Rescuers battled through thick mud and debris on Friday to reach survivors of Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods, whilst authorities warned that a newly formed Himalayan lake could unleash another wave of destruction.
The disaster has killed at least 547 people in Nepal, according to police, with the national disaster management authority earlier reporting 538 deaths. Over 3,700 people have been rescued, but 977 remain missing across the country. On the Chinese side of the border, at least five people have died, with hundreds more unaccounted for.
The devastation was triggered after a glacial collapse sent a torrent of rock, melted ice, and water surging through mountain valleys, obliterating homes, bridges, and infrastructure across Nepal and Tibet. The impact was concentrated along the Nepal-China border, devastating Nepal’s Rasuwa district and the Gyirong border region.
Rescue operations proceeded under extreme conditions, with emergency teams pulling survivors from submerged debris and helicopters airlifting stranded residents. The Nepalese Army was deployed to rescue more than 100 workers trapped inside a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Rasuwa, where heavy sludge had completely sealed access routes.
Army spokesperson Brig Gen Raja Ram Basnet highlighted the difficulty of the mission, stating: “It is complicated to find the entry and exit points of the tunnel because everything has been covered by mud.”
Nepal’s disaster management authority confirmed that more than 3,200 people have been airlifted from disaster zones, with critical casualties evacuated to Kathmandu for urgent medical care.
However, relief efforts now face a fresh hazard. Authorities warned that a newly formed glacial lake high in the mountains is overflowing, threatening further inundation down the valleys. Security forces and emergency crews have been placed on high alert and instructed to retreat to safer ground should conditions worsen.
“The rescue operation is continuing, but with high alert,” Nepalese police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle said. “It hasn’t stopped.”
Satellite imagery analysed by Chinese state media and climate experts suggests the body of water formed after Wednesday’s glacier collapse dammed a river upstream. Situated at an altitude of 2,950 metres, the lake lies just 10 kilometres from Gyirong Port.
Climate scientist Qianggong Zhang, from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, noted that the dammed lake holds a volume equivalent to roughly 1,200 Olympic-sized swimming pools and has already begun spilling over its banks. Geoscientist Jakob Steiner, of the University of Graz, warned that ongoing glacial melt and river blockages present continuing hazards, though another outburst on Wednesday’s scale remains unlikely.
Meanwhile, families continue an agonizing wait for news. Hundreds of foreign nationals –including trekkers, migrant workers, and pilgrims travelling toward Mount Kailash – remain missing.
Survivors recalled the terrifying velocity of the wave. Karbir Gaire, a customs official stationed near the border in Timure, recalled the ground trembling before a “black storm” engulfed the village. “It was like a Hollywood movie scene,” he said. “I don’t call it a flood – it was a tsunami.”
