&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Nepal floods: China warns artificial lake formed after mudslide could breach, send more floodwaters downstream")
Chinese authorities have warned that an artificial lake formed by a massive mudslide on the China-Nepal border is at "high risk" of breaching, raising fears of another surge of floodwater downstream as rescue teams continue searching for more than 1,400 missing people.
State-run Xinhua reported late Thursday (Aug 27) that continued rainfall could push inflows into the newly formed lake to around 3 million cubic metres over the next three days.
"According to forecasts, inflows into the lake could reach about 3 million cubic meters over the next three days amid continued rainfall, increasing the risk of a breach that could send floodwaters downstream and potentially cause further damage in areas including Gyirong Port and elsewhere downstream," Xinhua reported.
The warning adds a new layer of danger to a disaster that has already killed hundreds across the Nepal-Tibet border region.
'It is a giant graveyard': Death toll rises as rescue teams search through mud
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How fast can the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet really fly?
)
Did China ask its people 'not to respond to aliens'? Origin of bizarre claim on social media
)
MS Dhoni-CSK Fallout? Report claims failed stake sale talks triggered rift
)
Scientists reveal the SAFEST COUNTRY when catastrophe strikes the planet
)
Serial killer on the loose in South Korea's Jeju Island? Fourth body found in three days as more than a dozen people go missing
)
2/3rd of glacier detached, collapsed: ISRO satellite images reveal what triggered Nepal floods
)
Trump once again claims without him there would be ‘no Israel right now’
)
Foreign espionage attacks against German companies surge to 37%, Bitkom report reveals
)
Blake Lively wins partial legal fee from Justin Baldoni after $8M request
)
Why is Pakistan deploying Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones near India border?
)
'OH MY GOD! We've found other agents!': Investigators discover not one or two, almost 700 OpenAI AI agents went rogue, hacked Hugging Face
)
Lunar eclipse 2026: India timings, places to see and more. August Blood moon factsheet
)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on global outreach tour
)
Both pilots killed as training aircraft crashes in Lucknow – What we know
)
16-year-old charged with preparing terror attack on kindergarten in Norway
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How the S-400 protects itself from enemy attacks
)
Nepal floods: Over 165 dead, 400 missing; US, India, China, World Bank mobilise aid
)
India's multi-layered watch: The new surveillance war
)
5 doomsday planes spotted in US skies hours after CIA director's secret trip to Russia
)
9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to finally face trial in 2028, nearly 27 years after horrific attacks
)
Islamabad hospital fire: What we know about one of the biggest facility that housed Imran Khan
)
Workers run for life while filming Nepal flash flood: Scary new visuals emerge from Rasuwa
)
Russian military planes enter South Korean air defence zone amid rising tensions with North Korea: What's happening
)
Ron Weasley Is Back! Rupert Grint set to return to Harry Potter universe on Broadway
)
400-year-old 'vampire' grave in Poland reveals non-existent genetic lineage
)
Dolly Parton, global icon and queen of country music, dies at 80
)
Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact
)
'If he is dead, they're putting on a pretty good show': Trump casts fresh doubt over Mojtaba Khamenei's fate
)
Man arrested near US Capitol with guillotine in pickup truck: What happened?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI cockpit is painted bright turquoise green
Rescue workers in Nepal continued digging through thick mud and debris on Thursday as the death toll rose to 392.
Nepali police said 389 bodies had been recovered, while 910 people in Nepal remained out of contact, including 517 foreign tourists.
The disaster swept away entire settlements, bridges, vehicles and other infrastructure in a sudden wall of water, ice and mud.
A Nepali customs agent who survived after reaching higher ground in Timure described the destruction in stark terms.
"It is a giant graveyard," 35-year-old Omkar Joshi told AFP. "All that is left are sand and pebbles, soaked red by human blood."
More missing in Tibet
The disaster has also hit communities and travellers on the Chinese side of the border. Chinese state media reported that the mudslide at Gyirong Port in Tibet killed three people, while 558 people, including 260 foreigners, remain missing.
China said nearly 800 emergency workers had been deployed, along with sniffer dogs and speed boats. Premier Li Qiang also visited the affected area on Thursday to oversee the relief operation.
Fresh flood fears after debris blocks the river
The newly formed lake is adding urgency to the rescue operation. Experts have warned that huge amounts of debris remain lodged upstream along the Nepal-China border river, creating the possibility of another flood.
Qianggong Zhang, who heads climate and environmental risks at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, said authorities were already worried that another surge could occur.
Nepal's Flood Forecasting Division issued a special notice on Thursday warning of the growing lake behind the landslide debris and urging people to remain extremely cautious.
'Inland tsunami' struck the region
The initial disaster has been described as resembling an inland tsunami. The US Geological Survey said the disaster was initially reported as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake but later analysis of seismic recordings indicated that it was actually caused by a glacial collapse and debris flow.
