Around 3,000 people are currently missing, with more than 600 confirmed dead following catastrophic flash floods that hit the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday, August 26.
Aid workers describe the disaster as more akin to a “tsunami” than a flood. The calamity occurred when a massive glacier chunk, about 2,000 ft wide, sheared off Langtang Lirung mountain, triggering landslides that sent ice, water, rock, and debris 7,000 ft downward.
Nepal’s foreign minister Shisir Khanal has declared the hardest hit areas as “swampland,” making helicopter landings impossible.
The nation has called for help from abroad, with even refrigeration units needed for preserving the decomposed bodies. Officials from Chitwan district have decided to bury hundreds of unidentified bodies in a single grave.
Over 180,000 rescue workers are participating along with 40 helicopters. The efforts are being made difficult due to the weather conditions and the lack of infrastructure. Over 180 tourists have been saved, out of which 114 are Indians, while 420 foreigners are still missing.
Barrier Lake, created by the debris close to the border region, is starting to drain on its own.
As per the government of Nepal, the rebuilding will cost around $4-5 billion, with infrastructure including roads, bridges, and hydropower plants destroyed. This marks Nepal’s worst disaster since the 2015 earthquake.
