Families across Nepal and abroad are anxiously awaiting information about their relatives, with communications and transportation links badly affected by the disaster
By Moses Okorie
More than 600 people have been confirmed dead following devastating flash floods and landslides that struck Nepal and parts of Tibet, as rescue teams enter the fourth day of a desperate search for survivors.
The disaster, which hit the Nepal-Tibet border region on Wednesday, has left communities devastated, destroying homes, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure. Nepalese authorities say the death toll has continued to rise, while thousands remain unaccounted for.
Nepal’s disaster management authorities have reported a rapidly changing number of missing people, with the latest combined figures from Nepal and Tibet putting the total at about 2,500. The figures have fluctuated considerably as authorities reconcile reports from affected communities and rescue teams.
Among those missing are hundreds of foreign nationals. Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said 511 foreign nationals remained unaccounted for as of Friday, while earlier reports had put the number at 517. The missing include tourists, pilgrims and workers from several countries.
Families across Nepal and abroad are anxiously awaiting information about their relatives, with communications and transportation links badly affected by the disaster.
Rescue teams are using a brief improvement in weather conditions to search through mud, debris and collapsed structures for survivors. However, operations remain extremely dangerous because of the continuing threat of landslides, unstable terrain and further flooding.
In one of the few remarkable stories of survival, a 97-year-old woman was pulled alive from the rubble of a care home after rescuers spent about four hours clearing debris from the collapsed structure. She was taken to hospital for treatment.
The disaster has also caused widespread destruction in Tibet. Information about the situation there has largely come through Chinese state media, with Chinese authorities reporting deaths and hundreds of people missing in the affected region.
The exact casualty figures remain difficult to establish. Official numbers from Nepalese and Chinese authorities have changed repeatedly as search operations continue, and some figures do not immediately correspond because reports cover different areas and categories of victims.
Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said 538 bodies had been recovered as of Friday and warned that casualty and missing-person figures remained subject to verification.
With the threat of further landslides and flooding still present, rescuers remain under pressure to reach isolated communities and locate those still missing, while families continue to hope that more survivors will be found.