24 Canadians among hundreds missing after flash floods kill at least 157 in Nepal, Tibet

24 Canadians among hundreds missing after flash floods kill at least 157 in Nepal, Tibet

Nepal's ambassador to Canada confirmed Canadian tourists among the missing

Massive flash floods in a border area of Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday killed at least 157 people, according to Nepali police, and left hundreds of tourists — including 24 Canadians — workers and others missing after sweeping through communities and bringing travel in some areas to a halt.

The Prime Minister's Office in Nepal earlier reported at least 95 dead. China's state broadcaster CCTV said a mudslide in Tibet's Gyirong County near the border killed at least three and left 265 missing.

The Bhotekoshi River flooded around 9 a.m. local time Wednesday, destroying several villages as well as roads and hydropower projects, Nepali officials said. They issued warnings to residents in several of Nepal's districts and asked them to stay away from the banks of the Bhotekoshi, Trishuli and Narayani rivers.

"We have asked both India and China to help us with the rescue efforts," said Sasmit Pokharel, a spokesperson for the Nepali government.

Sunil Sharma, officiating director of the Nepal Tourism Board's public relation and publicity department, said 403 people, including 341 foreign nationals were reported missing, including 24 Canadian citizens. Nepal's ambassador to Canada later confirmed the information about the Canadians.

In an interview with CBC News, Bharat Raj Paudyal said while he cannot confirm the circumstances around the Canadians, he said the affected area is both popular with hikers and also a route often used by those on pilgrimage.

Prime Minister Mark Carney called the flash flood "absolutely devastating." In a statement on social media, he asked all Canadians in the region to register with the ROCA (Registration of Canadians Abroad) system as soon as possible, and said Canada stands ready to provide support.

"Canadians are thinking of all those in distress right now, those who have lost a loved one, and all those who are still waiting for answers," he added.

The flash floods along Nepal’s Bhotekoshi River are absolutely devastating.

Canadians are thinking of all those in distress right now, those who have lost a loved one, and all those who are still waiting for answers.

Our government is closely following the situation and…

Security footage captured on the Chinese side of ⁠the Nepal-Tibet border showed many people fleeing before a wall of rock, mud and water destroyed buildings and ‌vehicles, with the people disappearing from view.

Sharma said 133 of the missing are from India and on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. Also missing are 47 from the United States, 34 from Australia and 33 from Britain.

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South Korean and Malaysian government officials said separately from Sharma that several of their citizens were unaccounted for.

At least 62 missing Nepali citizens were among hundreds of locals trekking near the Gosaikunda lake in Rasuwa, coinciding with the upcoming local festival of Janai Purnima, Sharma added.

Nepal police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle told The Associated Press that at least 28 police officials were missing.

Nepal's steep valleys are economic lifelines and travel corridors but precarious ones when disaster strikes. Images showed what appeared to be the second floors of buildings in the hard-hit Nuwakot district slathered in mud after the torrent rushed by. Debris hung from tree branches and wires, vehicles were buried and stunned survivors were caked in mud.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake early Wednesday, about 100 kilometres north of Kathmandu, near the border with China's autonomous region of Tibet.

The Trishuli river roughly parallels a highway north of the Kathmandu area that is used to reach one of Nepal's most popular treks in the Langtang area.

Hundreds of people, including tourists, missing after flood in Nepal

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered authorities to step up the efforts for people missing after the mudslide, state news agency Xinhua reported. Chinese authorities were conducting large-scale search and rescue operations in the Tibetan border area of Gyirong, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah and offered help.

"India is prepared to provide Nepal with all possible types of humanitarian assistance. Our teams are closely co-ordinating on rescue and relief efforts," Modi said in a social media post.

Dozens of multi-storey buildings, trucks, and vans were buried under vast quantities of mud in the district of Nuwakot, one of the worst-affected areas. Officials warned residents in several of Nepal's districts and asked them to stay away from the banks of the Bhotekoshi, Trishuli, and Narayani rivers.

The same regions affected by Wednesday's disaster saw flash floods similar to those in August last year, when a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed because of high temperatures in the mountain region. Nine people were killed, and critical infrastructure, including a bridge connecting Nepal and China, was damaged at the time.

Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development say an avalanche from a glacier likely caused Wednesday's flash flood.

The Lhende Khola River, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi River, witnessed maximum flooding Wednesday, they said.

"The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in 14 months, this time triggered by an ice rock avalanche from a glacier on the Nepal side that blocked the river and released a sudden surge downstream," said Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist at the climate research group.

"In a warming Himalaya, early warning is the first line of adaptation," he added.

The Himalayan region, which crosses Nepal and several nearby countries, including India, is especially vulnerable to heavy rains, floods and landslides because the area is warming up faster than the rest of the world due to human-caused climate change.

Research has shown that extreme weather events, including heat waves, heavy rains and melting glaciers, have become more frequent in the region.

Researchers at the Kathmandu research group found earlier this year that glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region are melting at an accelerating rate, with ice loss rates doubling since 2000, primarily due to rising global temperatures and climate change.