Key developments
• Death toll: Contact has still not been established with some parts of Nepal’s hardest-hit areas, the UN says, as the death toll in China and Nepal stood at more than 1,100. Some 4,500 people remained unaccounted for in both countries, according to officials.
• On the ground: Nepal’s foreign minister told CNN’s Anderson Cooper the country is still trying save lives with ongoing rescue efforts. A bus driver told CNN how he narrowly saved 50 children and our team joins Nepali police on an arduous search mission for the bodies of flood victims.
• Warning signs: A new report said the glacier which collapsed, triggering the devastating floods, showed visible signs of instability days before the disaster.
• Glacier risk: Glaciers surrounding an impact crater in Nepal “may still collapse, posing significant potential risks,” according to Chinese state media, which on Wednesday added that the rescue route at Gyirong port has been “largely reopened.”
Our live coverage of the aftermath of the Nepal-China floods has concluded. Please see here and here for more from our teams on the ground.
Priority is saving lives, UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal tells CNN
One week after the devastating floods hit Nepal, the United Nations’ main priority is “saving lives,” the UN resident coordinator in Nepal said.
The organization is also working to deliver food and clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene supplies, and shelter for displaced people, Lila Pieters Yahia told CNN’s Polo Sandoval.
“This is such a tragic, tragic, tragic event for Nepal, but also for the international community,” she said.
An estimated 84,270 people across 17 municipalities, including more than 32,000 children, have been affected by the flooding, according to UN figures.
Nepal’s government and the UN resident coordinator have agreed to launch a four-month Humanitarian Flash Appeal to address the critical needs of affected communities, Yahia said.
As the tragedy stretches on, preventing infectious disease, restoring infrastructure, providing shelter, and offering mental health support to affected people are all major concerns, she added.
CEO of major tech firm missing after Nepal floods, daughter tells CNN
The CEO of Infosys Public Services - a subsidiary of the Indian software services giant Infosys - Laxminath Gopisetty is missing after the devastating floods at the Nepal-China border, his famly have confirmed.
Gopisetty was traveling with a group of 11 people. Ten were from the United States and one from Canada, his daughter Shreshta Gopisetty told CNN.
His last known location was at the Nepal immigration office on the Nepal-China border around the time the flood hit, she said.
“The entire group is missing. No one has heard anything from anyone,” she added.
Infosys was formed in 1981 and it went on to become one of the world’s biggest consulting and outsourcing firms. Infosys Public Services is a US subsidiary offering digital and consulting services, among other things.
India’s missing: The largest contingent of foreigners missing following the disaster is from India. Many of them were traveling for a Hindu pilgrimage. Indian media reported that Gopisetty was there on a personal capacity, citing a statement from Infosys last week. CNN has reached out to Infosys.
Shreshta said the families involved have received no new information since last week.
They have been working through their own contacts with Indian and Nepalese authorities and have also contacted the US government to seek information, she said.
Despite the lack of information, the family is still holding out hope. “We have to believe that they’re still out there and waiting to be saved,” she said.
Five Australians in Nepal marked safe, PM says
Five Australians who were previously marked missing in Nepal have been confirmed safe, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday, offering a rare moment of hope as rescue efforts continue one week after the devastating flooding.
The number of missing Australians has now fallen from 43 to 38, Albanese told reporters, according to the Associated Press.
“Amidst all of this tragedy, we are seeing some positive news,” Albanese said.
Nearly 12,000 people have been rescued in Nepal, according to a Wednesday update from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).
Roughly 4,500 people, including hundreds of foreigners, remain unaccounted for in both Nepal and China, according to authorities.
Death toll in Nepal rises to 1,114
The death toll in Nepal from the devastating floods has risen to 1,114, the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said in an update Wednesday morning.
At least 16 people have died on the Chinese side of the border, according to an update from state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday.
Roughly 4,500 people remain missing on both sides of the border, according to authorities.
Nearly 12,000 people have been rescued in Nepal, the NDRRMA said.
"We're still trying to save lives": Watch CNN's interview with Nepal's foreign minister
CNN’s Anderson Cooper speaks with Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal in Kathmandu one week after the devastating floods. The minister said the government is “still trying to save lives,” including people believed to be trapped in hydropower tunnels.
Rescue route at Gyirong port "largely reopened": Chinese state media
The vital road leading to the China-Nepal border crossing in Gyirong, devastated by the catastrophic floods last week, has been “largely reopened” Chinese broadcaster CCTV said Wednesday morning.
The restored route will allow more rescue personnel, relief supplies and heavy lifting equipment to enter affected areas previously inaccessible, according to CCTV.
Earlier this week, the broadcaster carried video of excavators working at pace to carve a new road into the banks of a river.
Emergency work to repair the road has been difficult due to constant rain, rockfalls and various other challenges.
Video from rescuers showed the checkpoint building had been completely wiped out by the flood.
CNN joins search for Nepali flood victims along riverbanks
CNN’s Hanako Montgomery joins Nepali police on an arduous search mission for the bodies of flood victims along mud-filled riverbanks, dozens of miles downstream from the flood zone.
Heroic bus driver tells CNN's Anderson Cooper how he saved dozens of children
A Nepali bus driver in an area hard-hit by last week’s floods recounted to CNN’s Anderson Cooper how he narrowly saved 50 children from the gushing water, crossing a bridge just moments before it was swept away.
Save the Children plans for rebuilding lost infrastructure in Nepal
Save the Children is focusing on basic needs as it serves Nepal’s badly-hit Nuwakot district — distributing food, water, diapers and toothbrushes.
The aid group is viewing their work as a long-haul relief operation, planning for the rebuilding process, she said.
“Once the story’s over, everybody’s going to fly out,” said Lefevre. “The people who are left here are the communities whose homes have been washed away.”
“The next step will be, ‘I need a job, I need to rebuild my life, I need a livelihood,’” Lefevre said.
The organization has already begun speaking with local authorities.
“Children need to be back in school,” she said. “They need to be in education again.”
As survivors still process the disaster, psychosocial counselors have been assigned to child-friendly spaces in the organization’s temporary shelters.
“I think it’s really hard to comprehend how children are going to process this trauma and this event that they’ve lived through,” she reflected.
These survivors in Nepal grapple with the aftermath of the floods
Some survivors in Nepal are reeling with shock of the devastating floods, living in fear of potential future floods, and grappling with the loss of their loved ones.
Many of those displaced are living in temporary shelters, like a yoga center in Bidur, where about 100 women and children share one bathroom.
Subba Tamang, who lost eight family members, has made a rooftop his temporary home with 50 other men. He said they are all grappling with their loss.
“We cannot [sleep]. Many people cry because they lost their family members too. Many people cry here at night remembering their members,” Tamang told CNN’s Will Ripley. “Every day goes like that.”
A look at rescue efforts underway at Nepal's biggest hydropower station
Hundreds of people are missing at a hydropower station in Nepal. Here’s a look at the rescue efforts.
Watch a woman save two children before flood struck last week
Video from the day massive floods hit Betrawati, Nepal, shows how a woman managed to save herself and two schoolchildren seconds before floodwater nearly carried them away.
The woman is seen sprinting from a road up an incline with the two small children, both in school uniforms. Behind them, a wave of water carries away a building, while others flee alongside them. The three fall down as they turn a corner at full tilt, getting back to their feet and running away moments before fast-moving, muddy water covers the road entirely.
Betrawati was badly damaged in last week’s floods, with authorities finding at least 24 bodies buried in mud in a single house in the town.
Around 75 Americans still missing in Nepal, State Department says
Roughly 75 Americans remain unaccounted for in Nepal following last week’s catastrophic floods, a US State Department spokesperson said Tuesday.
So far, 14 US citizens are confirmed to be safe, the spokesperson said.
Nepali Army says it rescued 119 people on Tuesday
The Nepali Army says that it rescued at least 119 people by air on Tuesday, including a British national, according to a statement posted on social media.
“So far, the Nepal Army has rescued a total of 3,891 people by air, including 273 foreign nationals,” the army added.
The army statement also provided updates on ongoing rescue efforts at four different hydropower projects that were severely damaged by last week’s deadly floods.
Joint search and rescue teams have used heavy equipment, including excavators, to unearth tunnels buried in mud and rock along the Trishuli River, the statement said, but so far responders have found the tunnels either “completely buried,” “blocked” or “impossible to enter.”
Ice and mountain slopes may still be unstable after huge glacier collapse, experts warn
As rescue efforts continue in Nepal, dangers remain – with experts warning that the landscape is still precarious after the huge glacier and landslide that caused the catastrophic flooding.
“We need to consider the possibility of further instability around the source area,” said Prashant Baral, a cryosphere Analyst at ICIMOD, a Nepali climate group. “The remaining glacier ice, fractured bedrock and recently disturbed slopes may still be unstable following such an exceptionally large rock–ice avalanche.”
Some hopeful news is that water appears to have mostly drained from a lake that formed in the impact crater below the collapsed glacier. “There is not the urgency that there was before that there could be another release of water that would further damage things downstream,” said Alton Byers, a mountain geographer at the University of Colorado Boulder.
But the dangers are certainly not over. “The potential risk depends not only on the amount of stored water; it also depends on the possible additional collapse of the surrounding glacier and rock,” among other factors, Baral said. If large amounts of ice or rocks plummet from the mountain, they could displace water or create another debris flow.
Fresh avalanche deposits may also be unstable, Baral said, as they “can change rapidly through erosion, seepage and melting of possibly existing buried ice.”
Experts are keeping a very close eye on the ice and mountain slopes, he added.
Over a thousand dead in Nepal after flooding, as report finds warning signs. Catch up here
At least 1,050 people have died and nearly 4,000 people are still missing following last week’s catastrophic flooding in Nepal, according to a recent update from the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).
Here are the latest developments on the flooding:
- The glacier that collapsed causing the devastating landslide and flooding had visible signs of change days ahead of the disaster, according to a new report from a consortium of scientists.
- More than 2.4 million tons of debris has been created after the flooding, according to a preliminary estimate by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
- There is “no doubt” that climate change contributed to the disaster, Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah said on social media.
- Some communities in Nepal’s badly-hit Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts are facing a shortage, or total lack, of aid supplies, according to the NDRRMA.
CNN’s Anup Pradhan, Simone McCarthy, Billy Stockwell, Kosh Raj Koirala and Bhadra Sharma contributed to this reporting.
Flooding leaves behind more than 2.4 million tons of debris, UN says
More than 2.4 million tons of debris has been created after last week’s flooding near the Nepal-China border, according to a preliminary estimate by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The debris includes parts of buildings, household belongings, vegetation, rocks and sediment, a UNDP statement said Tuesday.
The amount of debris shows “the scale of the destruction and the challenge communities face as they clear homes, roads and public spaces and begin to rebuild,” the statement added.
Kyoko Yokosuka, UNDP’s resident representative in Nepal, said the flooding was a “devastating disaster for communities along the Trishuli corridor.”
"No doubt" that climate change a factor in flooding, Nepali prime minister says
There is “no doubt” that climate change contributed to the disastrous flooding in Nepal, the country’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah said in a social media post a short while ago.
Climate change has increased temperatures in the Himalayan region by up to 1.8 degrees Celsius, or 3.24 degrees Fahrenheit, Shah said.
Experts have suggested that the flooding was caused by an avalanche of ice and snow, Shah said.
Nepal is home to thousands of glaciers, which are melting and becoming unstable as the Himalayan region rapidly warms.
The country barely contributes to the climate crisis – it accounts for less than 0.1% of global planet-warming gases – making the disaster a stark reminder of how the nations that contribute the least to the climate crisis are suffering the most harm.
As Nepal warns of the growing threats posed by climate change, Shah is being advised to attend the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York, instead of the country’s foreign minister leading the delegation as planned, according to his office.
“Given the changed context in the country, especially after the floods, the prime minister is advised to attend the Assembly,” his office said, while adding that no formal decision has been made.
This post has been updated to accurately reflect an increase of 1.8 degrees Celsius in Fahrenheit. CNN’s Kara Fox contributed to this reporting.
Experts have long called for better data-sharing across Himalayan borders
Earlier, we reported how Chinese and Nepali officials met in Kathmandu in late May to discuss sharing data and monitoring natural risks along their Himalayan border. Just months ahead of the deadly landslide and flooding that devastated parts of both countries, the meeting – first reported by Reuters – ended without a specific agreement on data-sharing, but instead a plan to hold a second round of talks.
Experts have long been calling for better data-sharing efforts across Himalayan borders, where the risks of natural disasters are only growing and becoming more unpredictable due to climate change.
The recent disaster would have been difficult to pinpoint ahead of time, given that it took place in a “blind spot” that’s not been heavily monitored by either side. But the scale of the catastrophe highlights how critical it is to set up more complex, cross-border monitoring and early warning systems, experts say.
During rescue efforts in recent days, China has been sharing images, satellite and hydrological data of the disaster-stricken area, including early warning information on secondary flood risks, according to Chinese state media.
