- Nearly 1,400 missing, mostly tourists,
Authorities in Nepal and China have both warned of fresh risks of flooding in the Himalayas as two lakes that have developed on either side of their border threaten to burst in a region still grappling with the disastrous flash flooding.
With both countries blaming the flood on a glacier collapse that pushed rock, ice, mud and debris into river systems in the mountains, Nepal’s Disaster Authority issued a notice on Thursday warning that a lake formed by debris blocking a river at the flood site was rising and at risk of bursting.
“Residents of the lower banks … passengers, rescuers engaged in rescue operations, and all concerned are requested to exercise special caution and stay in safe places away from the river banks and risky areas,” the authority said as cited by Reuters.
Rising Lake Sparks High Flood Warning In China
Similarly, Chinese authorities have warned that 3m cubic metres of water, the equivalent of about 1,200 Olympic swimming pools, are expected to flow into an already dammed lake on its side of the border over the next three days, creating a high risk of a breach, with peak flow expected around Monday.
According to state media, the warning indicates that an artificial lake formed after a mudslide hit the Tibet-Nepal border faces a “high risk of breaching and sending floodwaters downstream”.
The AFP quoted an official statement by the State news agency, Xinhua as saying late on Thursday that: “According to forecasts, inflows into the lake could reach about 3 million cubic meters over the next three days amid continued rainfall, increasing the risk of a breach that could send floodwaters downstream and potentially cause further damage in areas including Gyirong Port and elsewhere downstream”.
At Least 1,468 Missing
Amid ongoing rescue efforts, Nepal’s Disaster Agency said about 910 people were unaccounted for on Thursday, including at least 517 foreigners, but there was no breakdown of the nationalities of the foreigners still considered missing.
Across the border with Tibet, China said 558 people, including 260 foreigners, were missing and put together, the total number of missing persons on both sides of the border now stand at 1,468.
Also, Nepal’s Tourism Board on Thursday put the number of missing tourists and travellers, Nepali and foreign, at 667 in total with further figures indicating that 127 Nepali visitors were among the 667 listed as missing. However, it was not immediately clear how many Nepali residents of the area were unaccounted for
