Thick mud, debris and shattered homes were strewn across Nepal’s Nuwakot district on Friday as crews battled to clear the devastation left by catastrophic floods along the Nepal-China border, with at least 538 people killed and more than 1,500 still missing.
Authorities warned on Friday that another wall of water could follow, after a ‘barrier lake’ created by the first surge of floodwater and debris began overflowing. Rescue operations were temporarily halted in some areas as officials warned of fresh flash floods and landslides.
The disaster struck on Wednesday after a reported glacier collapse unleashed a huge torrent of water, rock, ice and debris into rivers flowing south from Tibet into Nepal.
Some of the worst destruction hit Nepal’s Rasuwa district near the Chinese border, before the floodwaters thundered downstream along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers into Nuwakot and other areas.
Thousands of security personnel and rescuers have been deployed across Nepal, while China has sent military, emergency and rescue teams into affected areas on its side of the border.
Source: Viory
