Authorities in Nepal warned of the possibility of new floods on Sunday, urging residents in flood-affected areas to remain on high alert after water levels rose in the Bhutikoshi River.
Flood warning notices were sent to people’s phones early Sunday as rescue teams worked to clear a major highway linking Kathmandu to one of the areas hardest hit by Wednesday’s catastrophic floods, which killed at least 800 people and left more than 3,000 missing in Nepal and Tibet.
The latest warnings came after Chinese authorities informed their Nepalese counterparts of increased water flows upstream, according to Dharam Raj Upreti, CEO of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency, citing the country’s Ministry of Water Resources, said that a new lake formed after Wednesday’s floods high in the mountains had largely dried up.
But Xinhua said the ministry warned that the crater located 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) upstream, which contains an estimated 1.4 million cubic meters of water, still poses some risks and requires careful monitoring.
Nepal’s Disaster Management Agency said on Sunday that the death toll had risen to 788 people and 2,502 missing, while Chinese authorities reported 16 dead and 546 missing on the Chinese side of the border.
Among the missing are hundreds of people from more than a dozen countries who were in the region to work, visit the mountains or make a pilgrimage to a sacred peak. Chinese state media said on Sunday that 261 foreigners were missing in Tibet, including more than a hundred Nepalese and others from all over the world.
Some are returning to what remains of their homes
In Dhading district, one of the worst-hit areas in Nepal, some residents have begun returning to their destroyed homes to see what can be saved.
Residents sat in homes whose walls had been washed away by the floods, removing mud and rubble from balconies or window frames. Others scanned the ground for items they could pick out of the mud and rinse off. One of the men had returned for his chicken, which he found alive. He tied them up and put them in the cab of his truck.
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Sharmila Tamang, a Dhading resident who was trying to salvage items from her home, told the Associated Press: “Everything is gone. There is nothing left. Not even our house.”
In a major power station that was severely damaged by floods, workers began inspecting the facilities on Sunday to see the damage. The plant serves more than 20,000 people in four regions.
In the town of Galchi, a group of residents searched for higher ground on a nearby bridge and saw the river roaring. Some pointed out huge boulders washed away by the river during previous floods, while others standing on a suspension bridge were warned by whistles.
Along the river, homes, vehicles and agricultural tractors can be seen protruding from the thick gray-brown sediment that has covered entire villages in some areas. Parts of the rice terraces along the riverbank fell into the river after being hit by landslides.
Residents receive constant flood warnings
Homes and businesses remained intact after the floods without power on Sunday, while poles and wires of twisted power lines were tangled in the mud.
Residents of flood-affected villages said they were struggling to make sense of the near-constant warnings they had received since the initial floods.
“Sometimes they say the flood is coming, and then we have to run again to higher ground, even at night. There is rain too,” said Govind Shreshta, a resident. “It’s really hard for me. I have a 72-year-old father and a 70-year-old mother. I have to carry them and I’m exhausted. It’s like that for those who are still alive.”
Large concrete bridges and smaller suspension bridges were destroyed, making communities on the other side of the river less accessible.
“Those who were there are stuck there now. And those who were here are stuck here. It will be very difficult,” said Satan Singh Tamang, 47, who was working near a bridge when Wednesday’s floods came.
The minister says Nepalese have become victims of climate change
Flash floods began on Wednesday after a high-altitude avalanche in the Himalayan region. Scientists who studied satellite images said the foundation beneath a high Himalayan glacier had collapsed, taking part of the glacier with it. The rockslide was so severe that it was recorded as a 5.2 magnitude earthquake.
The rocks and melted water then raised river levels in the valleys below, causing a torrent of water that washed away buildings, bridges and soil downstream in Tibet and Nepal.
Nepal’s foreign minister called for a global response to climate change, saying Nepal bears a disproportionate share of its impact.
“Despite contributing only 0.1 percent to global emissions, the people of Nepal have become major victims of climate change,” Shisir Khanal said on Saturday.
Scientists said it was too early to directly link global warming to Wednesday’s disaster. But they said that as the Earth warms due to human activities such as burning oil, gas and coal, the chances of such disasters increasing, especially in the Himalayas, which are warming much faster than many other parts of the world.
On the other hand, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Sunday that his country will send a search and rescue team to Nepal to assist in relief efforts and help evacuate Malaysians affected by the disaster.
He added in a statement that Malaysia also pledged financial aid worth $1 million to Nepal.
—Associated Press writers Ijaz Hussain in New Delhi and Shristi Kavle in Kathmandu, Nepal, and video journalist Shonal Ganguly in Dhading, Nepal, contributed to this report.
