Nepal-Tibet floods: 1,000 missing, 165 dead after glacial collapse

Rescue teams in the Nepal‑Tibet border region are racing to find more than 1,000 people missing after a series of flash floods and landslides that killed at least 165 and wiped out entire villages. The disaster struck on Wednesday morning along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers, where a massive wall of mud and debris collapsed, engulfing buildings and sweeping away buses, cars and people. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) later attributed the event to a glacial collapse that sent a torrent of debris downstream, rather than an earthquake.

In the first hours after the flood, Nepali police reported that 162 bodies had been recovered and that the missing toll included many foreign tourists. The Nepal tourism ministry said 468 tourists—393 of them foreigners—were still unaccounted for a day after the disaster. Chinese state media reported that the “mudslide disaster” at Gyirong Port in Tibet had claimed three lives and left 558 people missing, including 260 foreign nationals. Among those still missing were Indians, Australians, Britons, Malaysians, Dutch, Portuguese, South Africans, South Koreans and Americans.

The flood’s path was described as an “inland tsunami” that travelled nearly 170 kilometres down the Bhote Koshi valley into central Nepal, wiping out villages and market areas. Environmental historian Ruth Gamble of La Trobe University noted that the route is a popular corridor for international tourists traveling from Kathmandu to Lhasa. “Entire villages and market areas have been wiped out,” said David Fisher, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Nepal, which has dispatched blankets, first aid kits, stretchers and body bags to the affected areas.

In Nuwakot district, businessman Raju Bhadel recalled receiving a distress call from his brother‑in‑law. “They were crying and said their entire house had been swept away. Three family members were rescued, but his brother is still missing,” Bhadel said. Teacher Manok Mishra witnessed “nine trucks being swept away by the floods, including people,” and said rescuers had to wade through mud and sludge to search for survivors in the lower floors of multi‑storey buildings.

Tibet’s government mobilised nearly 800 emergency workers, 150 vehicles, sniffer dogs and speed boats to aid rescue efforts, according to Xinhua. Chinese President Xi Jinping urged “everything possible to search for and rescue the missing people,” as roads in Shigatse were deemed unsafe due to ongoing mudslides.

The USGS clarified that the event was initially reported as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake, but subsequent analysis of seismic data and satellite imagery concluded that the cause was a glacial collapse and debris flow, with no earthquake having occurred. Climate change is accelerating glacier melt worldwide, increasing the risk of glacial lake outburst floods and collapses. Climate expert Qianggong Zhang of ICIMOD warned that a blockage still lodged upstream on the Nepal‑China border river could trigger a second flood.

The flood affected seven Nepali districts, from Rasuwa in the north to Chitwan in the south, where the river meets the Indian border. Many trekking companies had halted tours during the monsoon season, but pilgrims and tourists continued to travel to sites such as Syabrubesi, the gateway to popular trekking areas, and the base of Mount Kailash, a sacred site for Buddhists and Hindus.

The Nepalese Army conducted aerial searches and rescued dozens of people, while residents near danger zones were advised to relocate. Rescue teams on both sides of the border remain on high alert, working to locate survivors and prevent a secondary flood that could threaten additional communities.

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