Floods in Nepal and Tibet: nearly 1,400 missing after a glacier collapses

A glacier collapse in the Himalayas triggered deadly flash floods on the border between Nepal and China. The provisional death toll stands at at least 165, with some 1,400 people missing on both sides of the border.

Nepalese authorities have no news of 823 people following floods that devastated the border region between Nepal and China. Among the missing are 579 tourists, including 393 foreigners. On the Chinese side, authorities report 558 people missing in Tibet, including approximately 260 foreign nationals. Overall, Chinese state media suggest that nearly 1,000 people may remain unaccounted for across the entire disaster zone.

The death toll has risen to at least 162 in Nepal and three in Tibet. The official Xinhua news agency confirmed that mudslides triggered by a glacier collapse had struck Tibet, while state broadcaster CCTV reported that two villagers had been rescued.

The origin of the disaster was determined by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which initially reported a magnitude 4,4 earthquake about 60 kilometers north of Kathmandu. The agency later revised its analysis: the recorded event corresponded to the collapse of a glacier, reassessed at a magnitude of 5,2, which ejected significant debris downstream. This conclusion is based on data from seismic stations, analysis of long-period waves, and satellite imagery. No earthquake actually occurred.

Experts from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, based in Kathmandu, confirm that a glacial avalanche is "likely" responsible for the flash flood. At one measuring point on the Trishuli River, the water level jumped nine meters in half an hour. Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist, explains that the Lhende Khola, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi, was the hardest hit: "The flood was likely caused by an avalanche of ice and rock from a glacier on the Nepalese side, which blocked the river before suddenly releasing a large wave downstream." This is the second time this river has overflowed its banks in fourteen months.

At the Dhunge bazaar, a witness, Shoyam Rajbhandari, described the violence of the event: “When I arrived, the floodwaters arrived within half an hour and ravaged the entire market. People were getting ready to go to work. We don't know how many people are missing or have died.” Drone footage shows destroyed roads, buildings buried under mud, and vehicles covered in debris in the Nuwakot district.

Among the missing foreign nationals, 133 Indians were on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. Nepal Tourism spokesman Sunil Sharma also listed 47 Americans, 34 Australians, 33 Britons, and 24 Canadians as missing. The U.S. State Department indicated it had been informed that American citizens were among those affected.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in Adelaide on Thursday that at least 34 Australians on pilgrimages or treks were missing. She added that her government was coordinating a humanitarian response with Nepal, the United Nations, the Red Cross, and other organizations, as the Nepalese government had not yet made a formal request for assistance.

The Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that 55 Malaysian nationals in Kathmandu are unreachable due to severe infrastructure disruptions, without official confirmation of their presence among the missing. In France, the Quai d'Orsay indicates that at least 80 nationals have reported their presence in Nepal via the Fil d'Ariane service, but it is not possible to determine whether they were in the disaster zone.

This disaster is part of a series of events linked to the increasing instability of the Himalayan glacial system. In August of the previous year, the overflowing of a glacial lake in Tibet had already killed nine people and damaged a bridge connecting Nepal and China. The region's steep valleys, economic arteries and transportation corridors, are proving particularly vulnerable to these phenomena, the frequency of which is alarming climate specialists.