Nepal flash floods: Death toll crosses 150, 130+ Indians missing, India mobilises aid; What we know so far

Central Nepal is reeling after a colossal flash flood swept through the region, triggered by a landslide near the Tibet border that is believed to have involved a collapsing glacier. The US Geological Survey recorded a seismic jolt from the event comparable to a magnitude-5.2 earthquake.

What followed was a wall of ice, debris, mud and water crashing into the Lhende Khola, a smaller stream feeding into the Bhote Koshi River, and from there, into the districts of Rasuwa and Dhading, before the surge kept moving further downriver into new territory. The toll so far: over 150 confirmed dead and hundreds still unaccounted for.

What we know so far

• Fatalities have now crossed 150, and officials say the number could still grow as search efforts continue.
• Over 130 Indian citizens are among the missing, a large share of them pilgrims on their way through the Kailash Mansarovar corridor.
• Roads, bridges and power infrastructure across Nepal have taken a severe hit.
• Across the border, China's Tibet region has also confirmed casualties and missing persons.
• Nepal's military, armed police and civil police are running rescue missions, leaning heavily on helicopters to access cut-off areas.
• India has ramped up its support effort, dispatching aid and working to track down its citizens caught in the disaster.
• Bihar, sharing a frontier with Nepal, has declared high alert after the flood's runoff reached the Gandak river system.

Top developments

• Pilgrims unaccounted for: Nepal's Tourism Ministry says 133 Indian pilgrims travelling the Kailash Mansarovar route are among the missing. With communication networks down in several pockets, tracing stranded travellers has become a struggle for both families and officials.
  
  Two dedicated helpline numbers, +977 985 131 6807 and +977 970 910 7500, have been activated for relatives seeking updates.

• A trail of ruin along the rivers: After tearing through Rasuwa and Dhading via the Bhote Koshi, the flood pushed into the Trishuli River near Timure and continued spreading into Nuwakot, Chitwan, Gorkha, Tanahu and Nawalparasi East, with the damage stretching across a band roughly 70 to 200 kilometres from Kathmandu. Visuals emerging from the region show whole villages underwater, cars carried off by the current, and bridges giving way under the pressure.

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• Transport network in tatters: Nineteen motorable bridges have reportedly been destroyed, and a 42-kilometre stretch of road connecting Betrawati in Nuwakot to the Rasuwagadhi border point has been wiped out. Footage circulating online allegedly captured one bridge being swallowed by muddy floodwater and collapsing in roughly half a minute. With ground access largely cut off, helicopters have become the backbone of relief operations in the hardest-hit mountain districts.

• Power projects knocked offline: The Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal reports that eight functioning hydropower plants, together generating 354 MW, have sustained damage, along with five more that were still under construction.
  
  Among the bigger casualties: the 111-MW Rasuwagadhi plant, the 78-MW Sanjen Khola plant, and the 60-MW Upper Trishuli 3A project.

• Isha Foundation members missing: The organisation says 77 of its people were at an immigration office when disaster struck and remain untraceable, even as 495 others made it back safe. Founder Sadhguru said there had been no formal update on those stuck at the immigration centre, and Nepali authorities later confirmed that the centre's staff, too, had gone silent.

• Damage spills into Tibet: The Gyirong border zone in Tibet was struck by mudslides and flooding of its own, with Chinese officials reporting three dead and 265 missing, figures they describe as still preliminary. Roads, phone lines and power supply near the Gyirong crossing have all been knocked out. Rescue teams and drones have been sent in to survey the damage, though a rescuer quoted by state media said efforts to reach the border post had failed, with access roads completely gone.

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• India mobilises aid: Prime Minister Narendra Modi called his Nepali counterpart Balendra Shah to pledge full humanitarian backing. India has already flown in 10 tonnes of relief material, shelters, blankets, hygiene supplies, solar lighting and medicine, aboard an Indian Air Force C-130J, with further deliveries planned via C-17 and C-130 aircraft and helicopters standing by for evacuation duties.

• Bihar braces for overflow: As flood runoff entered the Gandak system, authorities threw open all 36 gates of the Gandak Barrage at Valmikinagar to manage the surge, with the peak flow expected around 11 pm before tapering off. Heightened watch has been ordered across West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Saran, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, and the flood-prone Sitamarhi and Sheohar districts, with NDRF units, boats and evacuation plans on standby.

• States check in on their people:
  
  - Tamil Nadu says 37 of its 57 tourists in Nepal remain untraced, with 20 confirmed safe
  - Uttar Pradesh has issued a travel advisory and switched on its 1070 helpline
  - Maharashtra confirmed four tourists from Mumbai and Pune are safe but stranded
  - Kerala reports a 36-member travel group from the state is safe and clear of the disaster zone
  - Sikkim has opened its own helpline for worried families.

• Coordinated rescue push across the border: China deployed 145 personnel from the People's Armed Police's Xigaze unit to assist near the affected crossing, with President Xi Jinping calling for an exhaustive search-and-rescue campaign, swift medical care for the injured, and tighter monitoring to head off further disasters. In Kathmandu, PM Balendra Shah convened an emergency session, instructing officials to extend all possible help to those affected.

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(With inputs from agencies)