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On Wednesday, part of a glacier collapsed high in the Himalayas, triggering catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border.
At least 160 people have been confirmed dead overall. In Nepal, police have recovered at least 157 bodies, while three people were killed in Tibet. Nepali authorities said more than 450 others – 341 of them foreign tourists – were unaccounted for following the flash flood. And across the border in Tibet, 265 people remain missing, according to Chinese state media, placing the total number of missing people at more than 700.
Here is what we know about what triggered the disaster, where the floods struck, and the risks facing the rapidly warming Himalayan region.
At about 8:40am local time (02:55 GMT) on Wednesday, flash floods and mudslides swept through mountainous areas along the Nepal-Tibet border, killing at least 157 people in Nepal and three in Tibet and leaving hundreds missing.
A massive flood of water, mud and rocks swept through the Lhende Khola river valley, engulfing villages and destroying homes and critical infrastructure. At least 19 bridges and about 40km (25 miles) of roads were washed away.
Nepalese soldiers and rescue teams have been deployed with helicopters, drones and search dogs, but high river levels, damaged roads and mud have complicated efforts to reach some of the worst-hit areas.
Across the border in Tibet, deep sediment has also delayed Chinese rescue teams trying to reach the border zone.
Officials were caught off-guard by the floods on Wednesday because it was not raining, according to local news editors.
The disaster appears to have begun high in the Himalayas, where part of a glacier had collapsed, triggering a chain of events that caused a powerful surge of water and debris downstream.
Satellite imagery showed that a substantial section of the lower end of the glacier broke away at an elevation of about 5,200 metres (17,000 feet), plunging about 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) onto the valley floor, gathering rock and sediment as it fell.
The resulting ice-rock avalanche struck the Lhende River in Tibet, about 20km (12 miles) northeast of the Nepal-China border crossing. Debris temporarily blocked the river before the natural dam gave way, releasing a powerful flood downstream.
Early reports suggested that a magnitude 4.4 earthquake had triggered the collapse. However, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) later revised its assessment, saying that the seismic signal had been generated by the landslide itself rather than an earthquake.
The landslide eventually registered as a magnitude 5.2 seismic event.
The disaster struck the mountainous Nepal-Tibet border region, with some of the worst damage in Nepal’s Rasuwa district, immediately south of the Chinese border.
The initial surge entered the Lhende Khola, which feeds into the Bhote Koshi and then the Trishuli River, carrying floodwaters south through Nepal. Water levels in the Trishuli reportedly rose by as much as 9 metres (27 ft) in just 30 minutes.
In the Rasuwa district, Timure and Syapru Besi were among the affected settlements. Further downstream, flooding reached parts of Nepal’s Nuwakot and Dhading districts, damaging homes, roads and other infrastructure.
Across the border in Tibet, mud and debris hit Gyirong Port in the Shigatse region.
The Trishuli eventually joins the Narayani River, which crosses into India’s Bihar state, where it is known as the Gandak River.
At least 160 people have been confirmed dead, while hundreds more remain missing on both sides of the Nepal-Tibet border.
“My brother-in-law had a liquor store here. I got a call from him this morning, and they were crying and said their entire house had been swept away,” Raju Bhadel, a local businessman in Nepal, told Al Jazeera.
Manoj Mishra, a teacher, described seeing vehicles and people being carried away by the floodwaters in Nepal. “I saw around nine trucks being swept away by the floods, including people. It’s a heartbreaking incident,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s Office in Nepal said that 484 people, including 391 foreign tourists and 93 Nepalis, were reported missing. However, these numbers are expected to increase as more details come in and as the water recedes, when rescue officials will be able to access some of the worst affected areas.
Many of the foreign nationals missing are pilgrims who had been travelling towards Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. Others were trekking around Gosaikunda Lake in Nepal’s Rasuwa district during the Janai Purnima festival, an occasion when sisters tie a thread on their brothers’ wrists to mark their special bond.
According to authorities on Wednesday, those unaccounted for included people from:
The missing include South Korean workers who were working at hydropower project sites damaged by the floods.
Dozens of Nepalese security personnel involved in the response were also out of contact, including police and army personnel.
At least 65 people were being treated for injuries in local hospitals and in Kathmandu.
Survivors from the badly affected Rasuwa district were evacuated by military helicopter, with some taken to hospitals in Kathmandu, including the National Trauma Centre and Bir Hospital.
Countries and international organisations have offered emergency assistance, funding and technical support as rescue operations continue in Nepal and Tibet.
India has sent a rescue aircraft carrying about 10 tonnes of emergency supplies to Nepal, including temporary shelters, blankets, hygiene kits, solar lamps and medicines.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah and pledged India’s support.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has released 1 million Swiss francs ($1.2m) in emergency funding to sup...
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