Nepal flood death toll rises to 547

The death toll from Wednesday’s devastating flash floods and landslides in Nepal has risen to 547, while nearly 1,000 people remain missing as rescue teams widen their search from the worst-hit Himalayan district of Rasuwa to several downstream districts.

Nepal Police confirmed the latest death toll on Friday afternoon, shortly after the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) had reported 538 deaths.

The figures are continuing to change as rescuers recover bodies and human remains from areas far downstream and authorities reconcile records from different districts.

The final death toll is therefore expected to remain uncertain while search operations continue.

The NDRRMA said 977 people were still missing, including 517 foreign nationals. It also reported that 3,742 people had been rescued. Nepal Police, in a separate update, put the number of injured at 1,473.

The disaster began on Wednesday after a glacier collapse in the Himalayan border region triggered a massive surge of water, rocks, ice, mud and other debris into the Bhotekoshi river system.

The Bhotekoshi is part of the wider Trishuli river system, allowing the floodwaters to carry people and debris considerable distances downstream.

What began as a disaster concentrated in Rasuwa has consequently developed into a much wider search and recovery operation.

Bodies have now been recovered in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, Tanahun, Chitwan and Nawalparasi, according to authorities.

Chitwan has recorded the highest number of recovered bodies, with 221, followed by 134 in Nawalparasi East, 46 in Gorkha, 37 in Nuwakot, 33 in Dhading, 28 in Tanahun, 27 in Nawalparasi West and 12 in Rasuwa, according to district-wise figures released by the NDRRMA.

The geographical spread of the recovery operation has created fresh logistical challenges.

Authorities are having to transport, store and identify bodies and human remains while attempting to match them with reports of missing people.

Hospitals and temporary facilities in downstream areas have also come under pressure as more bodies are recovered from the river system.

Nepal has mobilised a major security operation to deal with the disaster. More than 14,800 personnel are involved in search and rescue, including 6,698 Nepal Army personnel, 4,473 Nepal Police personnel and 3,650 members of the Armed Police Force.

Additional troops have been deployed along riverbanks and in downstream areas where people may have been swept away by the powerful floodwaters.

The rescue operation was briefly suspended on Friday because of fears of another surge.

A lake formed by a landslide on the Nepal-China border began overflowing on Friday, causing panic in the region.

A lake formed near the Nepal-China border following the glacier collapse began overflowing into the Bhotekoshi river, raising concerns that a sudden release of water could worsen conditions in already devastated areas.

Authorities said the lake had accumulated more than 2.5 million cubic metres of water, compared with an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million cubic metres a day earlier.

The Nepalese authorities temporarily suspended rescue operations for around 90 minutes before resuming them after assessing the immediate risk.

Rasuwa Chief District Officer Narendra Pariyar said officials had received information that the lake had breached and that water levels in the river were rising, although the exact scale of the breach was initially unclear.

The latest threat has added to the difficulties facing rescuers, who are already working in areas where roads and bridges have been destroyed and communications and electricity infrastructure have been severely damaged.

Despite offers from several countries, Nepal has decided not to accept foreign search-and-rescue teams for the time being, saying its own security agencies have sufficient capacity to conduct the operation.

The decision does not amount to a rejection of international humanitarian assistance.

Rather, Nepal says its own security network is already fully mobilised and capable of handling the present search and rescue effort.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lok Bahadur Chhetri said Nepal appreciated the offers but did not currently require foreign rescue personnel.

“The offer for help is natural. Our security agencies are doing the search and rescue operation. For now we don’t require such help,” Chhetri said.

He also indicated that Nepal could seek specialised international assistance if circumstances changed.

“It is not that we will not need help, but our security network is capable and working effectively right now,” he said.

The official said that they have taken such decision as they have previous experience during the 2015 earthquake when a large number of foreign rescue teams created coordination challenges.

However, the position has left some foreign rescue teams waiting in Kathmandu.

South Korea, for instance, has sent an 11-member rapid response team, but the team has not been deployed to the disaster zone because Nepal has not requested its assistance.

India, China, the United States, Britain, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have offered assistance or expressed readiness to send search-and-rescue personnel.

South Korea has a particular interest in the operation, with nine of its nationals reported missing after the floods hit a hydropower construction site in Rasuwa.

Seoul has urged Nepal to facilitate search efforts and pledged US$1 million in humanitarian assistance through international organisations.

Foreign nationals make up a significant proportion of those still missing. Many were travelling through the region towards Tibet’s Mount Kailash and Mansarovar, popular destinations for pilgrims, particularly from India.

Meanwhile, China has launched a large-scale search and rescue operation on the Tibetan side of the border.

Chinese authorities have deployed firefighters, vehicles, boats and drones to search affected areas and monitor the situation around the newly formed lake.

The disaster has also damaged a strategically important road linking Kathmandu with Tibet, along with bridges, hydropower facilities, electricity infrastructure and settlements.

As the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems continue to yield bodies and debris, Nepal’s rescue operation is moving into a far broader phase.