Nepal-Tibet Flood Deaths Reach 750; About 100 Americans Unaccounted For

The death toll from a glacial flash flood in Nepal and Tibet has climbed to about 750, with more than 3,000 people missing, according to the figures from both countries that Al Jazeera cited (its text says nearly 800 while its subheadline says 750). Nepal’s disaster agency reported 734 dead and 2,498 missing, while Chinese authorities reported 16 dead and 546 unaccounted for in Tibet, Al Jazeera said. NBC News reported the same Nepali totals.

The disaster began on Wednesday, when geologists said a huge mass of ice and rock broke off a mountaintop, NBC reported. Seismic monitors first registered the event as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake, which the U.S. Geological Survey later revised to the equivalent of 5.2, and the debris flow traveled 62 miles. Chinese state media attributed the disaster to glacier instability linked to climate warming, NBC reported. The most serious continuing risk is a lake dammed by a landslide above the border, which China’s state broadcaster described as stable.

For Americans, the most pressing concern is the missing. The State Department said it is not aware of any confirmed American deaths, but about 100 Americans are unaccounted for and five have been rescued, NBC reported. Of the missing in Nepal, 589 are foreign nationals, and 261 of the more than 8,100 people rescued in Nepal were foreign nationals. NBC listed a State Department hotline for relatives in the United States and Canada.

Rescue work has been hampered by damaged roads, power outages and fears of more flooding. Helicopters resumed flights in Nuwakot district after weather halted them, and bodies recovered along the Trishuli and Narayani rivers were taken to Pokhara for identification, NBC said. China sent five tunnel experts to help at a hydropower tunnel. On Sunday morning, Al Jazeera reported, Nepali authorities sent flood alerts to mobile phones warning of more flooding after water rose in the Bhotekoshi River. The Red Cross says up to 93,000 people in Nepal have been affected, according to Al Jazeera; NBC put the figure at more than 90,000.

International aid is arriving. Al Jazeera reported pledges of about $3.6 million each from the United States and Canada, $6.8 million from the United Kingdom, $2.5 million in emergency funding from the United Nations and $2.3 million from the European Union. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies allocated more than $1 million and launched a $31 million appeal. NBC separately reported that the World Bank, India, China and the United States had together committed $229 million, and that the U.N. was providing $2 million from its humanitarian relief fund; the two outlets give slightly different figures for the U.N. contribution.

Nepal has asked for financial aid and specialized help, including heavy-lift drones, DNA testing kits and body freezer units, Al Jazeera said. Nepal’s finance minister, Swarnim Wagle, estimated the country may need $4 billion to $5 billion to rebuild, NBC reported.