Nepal-Tibet floods LIVE updates: The death toll from devastating floods in Nepal has risen to 616 after a tsunami-like surge of water, ice and debris swept through the Himalayan region. Nearly 2,000 people are still unaccounted for, including 517 foreigners. The missing count rose sharply after Nepal’s disaster authority added 933 hydropower workers to the list.
Across the border in Tibet, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported seven deaths and 554 people missing. Indian authorities have also recovered seven bodies from rivers flowing out of Nepal, believed to be flood victims.
Death toll feared to rise
The number of casualties could increase as rescue teams continue searching through areas cut off by widespread destruction. The Red Cross said as many as 93,000 people may have been affected by Wednesday's disaster.
Rescue efforts have been complicated by the threat of further flooding. The massive deluge of ice and mud created temporary lakes in the region, raising fears that another sudden release of water could endanger emergency teams.
Nepali police ordered rescuers to move to safety after receiving information that "a water dam has burst again on the Tibetan side". In Tibet, authorities temporarily suspended rescue operations in the hardest-hit area of Gyirong over fears of renewed flooding before later saying the threat had eased.
Hydropower workers among missing
The disaster has hit an area containing major hydropower projects, with hundreds of workers among those missing or trapped.
At the Trishuli 3A hydropower project, around 350 workers and residents were brought to safety, while efforts continued to reach more than 100 people trapped in the area.
Devastating floods in the Nepal-Tibet border region have killed at least 616 people, Nepali police said Saturday, three days after the disaster.
Chinese state media had earlier confirmed seven dead, taking the total killed to at least 623 dead.
The European Union on Friday promised two million euros ($2.3 mn) in aid for Nepal after devastating floods on the country's border with Tibet swept away entire villages, killing hundreds of people.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X that the "immediate humanitarian aid" would help "deliver life-saving assistance to families and communities hit hardest."
Canada said Friday it would provide CAN$5 million (US$ 3.6 million) in funding to help relief operations after devastating flooding in Nepal left hundreds dead and thousands missing.
"We are announcing that Canada is providing $5 million in humanitarian assistance to support emergency relief efforts in Nepal," Randeep Sarai, Canada's secretary of state for international development, told reporters.
Nepal's disaster authority raised sharply the number of missing to 1,924 on Friday, two days after devastating floods that killed at least 579 in the country.
The number of missing includes 517 foreigners, as well as 933 workers on hydropower projects on the rivers where a wall of water powered down on Wednesday morning, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
