A devastating flash flood and mudslide struck the Himalayan border region between Nepal and China’s Tibet on Wednesday, killing at least nine people and leaving 384 travelers missing, officials said.
The disaster unfolded near Gyirong county in Tibet and the Nepali districts of Syapru Besi and Timure in Rasuwa, a mountainous area with a population of about 50,000. Rivers including the Lhende Khola, Bhote Koshi, Trishuli, and Gandak surged beyond their banks, prompting flood alerts in India’s Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states.
Nepal’s foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, said initial reports suggested an earthquake may have triggered an avalanche, causing the floods. The German Research Centre for Geosciences recorded a 4.4-magnitude quake approximately seven minutes before security footage timestamps. Qianggong Zhang, head of climate and environmental risks at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, attributed the event to an ice-rock avalanche in the Lhende Khola river and warned of a potential second flood due to an upstream blockage.
Rescue operations faced severe challenges. Authorities in China deployed 574 rescuers to the Gyirong land crossing, but access was hindered by 1.5-metre-deep sediment surging upstream from Nepal. Helicopters could not land in affected Nepali areas of Syapru Besi and Timure as the Bhote Koshi river overflowed its banks. Nepal’s energy ministry reported that 430 megawatts of electricity supplies were disrupted, representing more than 12% of the country’s total hydropower capacity of 3.2 gigawatts.
The disaster follows last year’s Bhote Koshi flood, which killed nine people and left 24 missing after a supraglacial lake in Tibet drained. Local health worker Tula Bahadur BK described widespread devastation, noting that entire river settlements had been swept away and that five of his relatives were among the missing.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah issued instructions for residents in lower-lying areas to move to safer ground, while district administrator Narendra Pariyar warned of possible heavy casualties or property loss. Rescue teams continued efforts to reach stranded individuals as authorities monitored the risk of further flooding.
