Rescue teams in Nepal and China’s autonomous region of Tibet are racing against time to find nearly 3,000 people still missing after catastrophic flash floods swept through the Himalayas, engulfing villages and leaving communities devastated.
The death toll has climbed to 633, with emergency crews continuing to recover bodies as they struggle to reach areas cut off by floodwaters and destruction. But the scale of the tragedy could be far greater.
Officials say thousands remain unaccounted for, including trekkers, pilgrims and hundreds of workers from Nepal’s hydropower sector. Nepal’s disaster authority has added 933 hydropower workers to the missing persons list as authorities expand the search.
For families waiting for news, every passing hour brings more anguish. Survivors have described losing homes, possessions and loved ones, with many now facing an uncertain future and the painful possibility that missing relatives may never return.
Desperate search for the missing
Rescuers continued operations Saturday across some of the worst-hit parts of Nepal and Tibet, where powerful floodwaters swept through settlements and carried debris downstream. There are also reports that some victims may have been carried far from the disaster zone, potentially as far as India, making the search even more difficult. Nepal now faces the enormous task of rebuilding communities and critical infrastructure destroyed by the floods.
The country’s finance minister has estimated that at least $4 billion will be needed for reconstruction. The full extent of the disaster remains unclear. Entire communities are still difficult to reach, tens of thousands of people have been affected and authorities are only beginning to assess the destruction.
Experts are also warning that the catastrophe may signal a growing threat in the Himalayas, where high-altitude lakes and extreme weather events can unleash enormous volumes of water with devastating consequences.
David Fisher, Head of Delegation for the Nepal delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told FRANCE 24 that the region contains hundreds of high-altitude lakes that could release huge amounts of water.
As rescue teams continue their search, the focus remains on finding those who may still be alive. For thousands of families, however, the wait is becoming unbearable — as hopes of finding missing loved ones collide with the growing death toll.
