Death Toll Exceeds 500 Following Catastrophic Nepal-Tibet Flash Floods

More than 500 people have been killed in the devastating floods at the border between Nepal and the Chinese region of Tibet. Nepal Police stated in an update that 547 people are confirmed dead, with 1,473 injured and over 1,000 missing in the Himalayan country and neighbouring China.

Over 4,000 police personnel are responding to the disaster, while the Red Cross estimates that more than 90,000 people are directly affected by the Himalayan landslide and urgently need humanitarian assistance. David Fisher, head of delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Nepal, noted that at least 93,000 people are in great need.

Rescue teams are conducting desperate searches for survivors after a wall of ice, mud and rock collapsed into a mountain river, triggering a catastrophic flash flood. Nepal is currently monitoring two lakes upstream of the flood zone, with one having begun overflowing. Authorities are utilizing helicopters to search for survivors and drop emergency supplies to thousands stranded in towns and valleys after the floods swept away a major road connecting Kathmandu with Lhasa in Tibet.

International support has begun to arrive, including a $10 million humanitarian aid package announced by the UAE to bolster relief efforts. Dr Tareq Al Amiri, chairman of the UAE Aid Agency, emphasized the Emirates' commitment to supporting disaster response globally.

Hospital staff in Nepal are working around the clock to treat the injured. Among them, survivor Girilal Budhathoki, receiving care at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj alongside his brother Newall, shared the tragic loss of his family.