Nepal flood death toll exceeds 450. Trump offers help
The confirmed death toll from flooding in Nepal and Tibet has risen to 469, with nearly 1,000 people still missing. President Trump said the United States has offered assistance to Nepal.
The death toll from Nepal floods has risen to more than 450, with US President Trump offering help.
A massive avalanche in the region sent a massive avalanche of rocks and mud into a Himalayan river on Wednesday morning. The resulting floodwaters have swept through villages and valleys, destroying power plants, roads and bridges along a popular route between Kathmandu and Tibet, connecting tourists and pilgrims.
The confirmed death toll in Nepal has risen to 469 as of early Friday morning. More than 1,000 people are still missing, at least 540 of them foreigners.
Rescue teams are using heavy machinery to dig through mud and rubble in Nepalese cities, Reuters reported. Hopes of finding survivors are fading as authorities work to reduce the risk of another devastating flood.
Nepalese authorities are using helicopters to search for survivors and airlift relief supplies to thousands of people trapped in towns and valleys. Emergency services, some with the help of sniffer dogs, have recovered dozens of bodies washed ashore on the plains.
New threat
The combination of water and debris is now raising the risk of a new disaster. Nepal's disaster management authority has warned that the level of a lake formed by debris blocking the Bhotekoshi River is rising and is at risk of bursting its dam.
Across the border, China said it expected to release about 3 million cubic meters of water into the dammed lake over the next three days. China's Ministry of Water Resources said the lake was at high risk of bursting its banks and was expected to peak around September 1.