Death toll surpasses 800 in Nepal-China border floods as rescuers search for thousands missing

The disaster began when bedrock beneath a glacier high in the Himalayas collapsed, according to scientists who studied satellite images, generating a rockfall so forceful it registered as a magnitude 5.2 seismic event. The resulting torrent of rock, ice, and water surged down river valleys into Tibet and Nepal, sweeping away buildings, bridges, and entire riverside villages. Rescue teams mobilized nearly 20,000 security personnel in Nepal alone, while crews at multiple hydropower plants bored holes into tunnels and pumped in air and food in hopes of reaching more than 900 missing workers.

Fresh warnings issued Sunday complicated efforts on the ground. Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said Chinese officials had relayed reports of increased water flow upstream, prompting phone alerts sent to residents in flood-affected districts. Residents described near-constant alarms since Wednesday. "Sometimes they say a flood is coming, then we have to run again to higher ground, even at night," Govind Shreshta, a local resident, told the Associated Press. "I have a 72-year-old father and 70-year-old mom. I must carry them and I am exhausted."

The scale of international exposure became clearer Sunday when Chinese state media published a breakdown of the 261 foreign nationals missing in Tibet, drawn from 23 countries. Nepal accounted for 104, India for 49, Latvia for 33, and the United States for 18, with citizens of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Russia, and other nations also among the missing. The US State Department said approximately 85 Americans were unaccounted for across both countries, while nine had been safely evacuated. The US announced $3.6 million in humanitarian aid to Nepal, including emergency food assistance for up to 10,000 households, according to CNN. Malaysia pledged a search-and-rescue team and $1 million in financial aid, according to multiple outlets.