Gambiaj.com – (KATHMANDU, Nepal) – Desperate families across Nepal and Tibet are waiting for news of loved ones after devastating floods and landslides killed at least 362 people and left more than 1,300 others missing.
The disaster struck on Wednesday, August 26, unleashing powerful torrents of mud and water across communities on both sides of the Nepal-China border. Rescue teams are continuing their search as hopes of finding survivors fade in some of the worst-hit areas.
In Nepal alone, authorities have reported at least 359 deaths and more than 800 people still unaccounted for. Among those missing are local residents as well as foreign tourists who had traveled to the Himalayan region for trekking.
Nepal’s tourism authorities estimate that at least 517 foreign tourists are missing, including four French nationals.
‘It is no longer a village’
For relatives of those missing, the uncertainty has become almost unbearable.
Sunil Tamang, a Nepalese doctoral student living in New Zealand, has spent the past two days constantly checking his phone for any sign of life from friends and relatives in his home village of Syafru Besi.
“On Facebook, all I see is that they connected hours ago,” Tamang said, expressing concern over several relatives, including his uncle.
“We have no news from many loved ones. We think they are no longer among us.”
Syafru Besi, a village of about 100 families, lies in a narrow valley along the Bhote Koshi River. Tamang said the force of the flooding had left the settlement almost unrecognizable.
“It is no longer a village. There is nothing left but a pile of stones. It is horrible,” he said.
As information emerges from the disaster zone, Tamang said he fears the number of dead could be significantly higher than the initial figures.
“The more I learn, the more I realize that there are far more dead than survivors,” he said.
Growing concern over extreme floods
Flooding and landslides are a recurring threat in Nepal’s mountainous regions, but residents say the scale and frequency of such events appear to be increasing.
Tamang recalled a village farther north that was destroyed in a similar disaster in 2015.
“Landslides have multiplied,” he said, arguing that monitoring remains inadequate despite the existence of warning systems.
Mountain communities are familiar with the dangers posed by rivers, landslides, and flash floods, he said. But the scale of Wednesday’s disaster was beyond what many had imagined.
“No one expected an avalanche equivalent to a 20-story building,” Tamang said.
The devastation has also raised renewed concerns about the vulnerability of settlements and tourist routes in the Himalayas, where steep terrain, powerful rivers, and increasingly severe weather can leave communities with little time to react.
Rescue operations continue
Rescue workers are continuing operations in affected areas, searching through debris and damaged settlements for survivors and the missing.
On the Chinese side of the border, authorities have reported three deaths in Tibet. Combined with the Nepalese toll, the provisional death count has reached at least 362.
More than 1,300 people remain missing across the two sides of the border.
For families waiting for news, however, official figures offer little comfort. Many continue to monitor phones and social media, hoping for a message from someone who may still be alive, while rescuers race against time amid extensive destruction.
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