Source : the age
Thank you for joining our coverage of the deadly flash floods in Nepal and Tibet. Here’s what you need to know:
Warning: This story contains graphic content.
- Thirty-four Australians are among hundreds of people reported missing after an avalanche of ice and rock triggered massive flash floods that swept through parts of Nepal and China on Wednesday.
- Nepal police said 157 bodies had so far been recovered. Neighbouring China has reported at least three people killed and 265 missing in a border community in Tibet.
- More than 400 tourists are unaccounted for, according to officials in Nepal, including from Australia, India, the US, UK and Canada.
- It is suspected that an earthquake struck the region and triggered the lower part of a glacier to collapse on the Lhende Khola river in Nepal, causing the floods.
- Significant casualties were reported at the Gyirong Port, on the border between China and Nepal. Surveillance footage (below) shows crowds running up a road near the port before torrents of water and thick clouds engulf the parking lot and surrounding buildings, destroying the area.
One of the 34 missing Australians was on a trekking tour with a Kathmandu-based operator when the catastrophic flooding hit, according to information provided by the Nepalese tourism board.
The Australian is among hundreds of tourists unaccounted for after an avalanche of ice and rock triggered massive flash floods through Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday (local time), killing at least 157 people in Nepal and three across the Chinese border.
The Australian was travelling with Kathmandu Holiday Tours and Travels, a leading tourism operator overseeing treks through Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. The person was travelling with a tourist from the Netherlands and 15 Nepali nationals.
Kathmandu Holiday Tours and Travels specialises in a range of mountain treks through Nepal and Tibet, according to its website. It didn’t respond to this masthead’s immediate request for comment.
There are at least 142 Indian nationals who haven’t been accounted for, while 93 Nepalis are missing. Twelve British tourists, three US citizens, 17 Malaysians and four from South Africa are unaccounted for, while the nationalities of 111 tourists are yet to be determined.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has released a statement on the catastrophic flash flooding through Nepal and China that has resulted in at least 160 deaths and has left hundreds more missing:
We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected by the significant flooding in Nepal and Tibet, China.
Australians in the affected area should follow the advice of local authorities.
We are aware of a number of Australians in the area and Australian officials are urgently working to confirm their welfare. We are liaising with local authorities as well as tour operators.
We stand ready to provide consular assistance.
Australians in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 (if calling from overseas).
Thirty-four Australians have been reported missing. More than 400 tourists are unaccounted for.
Intrepid Travel’s general manager of Nepal has confirmed all tourists and staff in the region are safe, as the region comes to grips with the loss of life following catastrophic flooding on the Nepalese and Tibetan border.
Intrepid offers small-group tours through affected areas in Nepal’s Langtang National Park and southern Tibet but neither was operating when the flooding hit.
Yalamber Rai, Intrepid’s Kathmandu-based general manager, was “deeply saddened” by the destruction wrought in the area.
“The scale of the disaster is devastating, with significant loss of life and reports of many people still missing,” Rai said.
“Beyond the tragic loss of life, this disaster is expected to have lasting impacts on livelihoods, trade, tourism, local businesses and critical infrastructure across the affected region,” Rai said.
Accommodation on the tours had suffered significant damage, Rai confirmed, and was expected to impact future tours in the region.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has released a statement this morning, following the news of flash floods in Nepal and Tibet.
“The loss of life and destruction caused by flash flooding in Nepal and China is devastating,” she wrote in a post on X.
Wong said DFAT officials were still trying to confirm the welfare of all Australians in the area.
The Australian embassy in Nepal said it was “deeply saddened” by the devastating flash flooding in the Rasuwa and Nuwakot regions of the country, where 34 Australians remain missing and 157 people are confirmed dead.
The embassy released a statement with the embassies of the United Kingdom, France, Finland, Norway and Switzerland.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected by this disaster. We express our solidarity with the people of Nepal during this difficult time,” they said.
“We encourage all those in affected areas to follow the guidance of local authorities and official safety advisories as the situation continues to evolve.”
Global small-group travel company G Adventures has confirmed that all its travellers and staff in Nepal and Tibet are safe, following the deadly flash flooding in the region.
“G Adventures can advise that all travellers and staff are safe and accounted for,” a spokesperson wrote on its website.
“G Adventures will continue to monitor the situation over the coming days and will post updates as necessary.”
The touring group offers several tours around Nepal, including a trek to Mount Everest and around Kathmandu, and through Tibet. It has re-routed tours of the region planned for the coming days, as the Nepalese government closes nearby highways amid safety concerns.
Officials at Nepal’s tourism ministry say more than 400 tourists are missing, of whom about 340 are foreigners.
Thousands of people also live in riverside settlements downstream from the flooding, including along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers. The authorities have not estimated the number of people missing and the extent of damage but said that bridges, schools and hydropower projects had been swept away, The New York Times reported
Sunil Sharma, a Nepal tourism board spokesperson, told the Toronto Star that 133 of the tourists were from India on a pilgrimage.
He said 47 of the missing tourists were from the US, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 24 from Canada. People from the Netherlands, Malaysia and South Africa were also among the missing, The New York Times reported.
Twelve British tourists had just crossed through Gyirong Port on a tour when a mud-filled wave more than 20 metres high hit, London’s Telegraph reported.
They glanced over their shoulders then began to run for their lives as the wall of water surged towards them down the narrow valley.
The tour was led by Alpine Eco Trek, a local service that arranges regular 10-day trips from the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu to the Tibetan mountain of Kailash.
“Both guides went offline at 8.42am,” said Ram Kumar Adhikari, the manager of the tour company. “The whole area was swept away by the flood. Even the Tibet immigration office,” he said.
