Our live coverage has moved
Get the latest updates on the Nepal-China flooding here.
Key developments
• Rescue effort: A search is underway for almost 900 missing employees at various hydropower projects in Nepal after Wednesday’s catastrophic flooding on its border with China. Emergency workers have pumped air into one tunnel but have yet to establish communication with anyone inside.
• Search continues: Around 3,000 people, including Americans and other foreigners, are still missing. The US is providing $3.6 million of humanitarian aid, up from the earlier announced $500,000.
• Grim toll: More than 700 people have died in Nepal and at least 16 were killed in China. Nepali authorities are struggling to cope with the mounting number of bodies, and Chinese officials have said there have been no more survivors found yet.
• Agonizing wait: Loved ones gather daily at medical centers and morgues to search for information on victims. Families in the US and across the world await word on missing travelers.
Death toll reaches 750 people, with more than 3,000 still missing
The number of people confirmed dead after the Nepal-China flooding has reached 750, with more than 3,000 people still missing, according to official tallies from Nepal and China on Sunday.
Nepal’s disaster agency said the death toll there had climbed to 734, from a previous total of 670. At least 2,498 people remain missing in Nepal, including 589 foreign nationals.
Earlier on Sunday, Chinese authorities confirmed at least 16 people had died on in the Tibet region, with 546 people missing. Among them are at least 261 foreigners including 18 Americans.
This post has been updated with additional information.
Barrier lake overflows, risk of "complete breach" low, Chinese officials say
A barrier lake formed near the flood zone at the Nepal-China border from an initial landslide has overflowed, but the situation is stable, Chinese officials said on Sunday during a news conference broadcast on state media CCTV.
“The barrier lake has already overflowed and started to discharge water,” officials said at a regional government press conference in Tibet.
“Currently, the overall situation is stable and the possibility of a complete breach is relatively low.”
A large portion of a glacier near the Langtang Lirung peak had broken and plunged into the river below, triggering an avalanche and landslide. The cascade of water, pulverized ice and rock then traveled downstream.
Chinese officials said the avalanche of ice and rock took just six to seven minutes to hit Gyirong Port.
No more survivors found in China yet, authorities say
No more survivors have been found yet in China after catastrophic flooding hit its border area with Nepal, authorities said Sunday morning local time.
The death toll from the disaster in Tibet’s Gyirong County rose to 16, according to officials at a news conference broadcast on state media CCTV. At least 546 people, including foreigners, remain missing.
Chinese state media reported on Saturday that two villagers had been rescued.
Footage from Wednesday’s disaster showed the deluge engulfing a large administrative building at Gyirong Port. A rescue team leader previously told CCTV: “The buildings within the mudslide’s impact zone have largely been flattened, with no discernible outline of any structures.” The rescue team said they had seen no signs of survivors at the border checkpoint.
Rescue workers near Nepal flood zone put on alert due to higher river levels
Search and rescue workers near the flood zone in Nepal have been told to be remain on alert on Sunday morning local time, due to increased water flow on the Bhote Koshi river.
“Search and rescue workers in affected areas like Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan, those living in riverside areas, and everyone else are requested to stay alert.”
The note to emergency workers follows a previous warning on Sunday to locals in the area to stay alert.
There was no immediate mention of the higher river flows in Chinese media reports Sunday morning local time.
Urgent effort underway to find workers missing in hydropower tunnels
Rescuers are urgently pumping air into into a tunnel at a hydropower project along Nepal’s Trishuli river, and plan to drill a manhole in the hopes of sending teams inside to look for survivors.
An estimated 898 workers at various hydropower projects are unaccounted for, according to the country’s Independent Power Producers’ Association. About 361 workers have been rescued so far, their data shows.
“There has been some success in the ongoing rescue efforts at the Trishuli–3 ‘A’ Hydropower Project tunnel, which was buried under mud and sludge following the flood,” wrote Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, Nepal’s Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, in an update late Saturday night.
Crews had been working with excavators to clear the mud and sludge, and had drilled a 6-inch hole through the upper section of the tunnel, he wrote. Initial inspections showed no debris inside; they’ve since pumped air into the tunnel, and let in light and sound, but have yet to establish communication with anyone inside.
Earlier on Friday, the Nepali army released dramatic video showing rescuers saving several people from the tunnel of a hydropower plant in Rasuwa district, with survivors crawling through thick mud and being carried out by emergency responders.
The Nepali army has released video showing rescuers saving several people from the tunnel of a hydro power plant in Rasuwa. The footage shows survivors crawling through thick mud to reach rescuers.
The Nepali government has requested experts on tunnel rescues from India and China to help free the trapped workers. Teams from both countries arrived in Nepal on Saturday.
Death toll in China climbs to 16, say officials
The death toll in China from Wednesday’s catastrophic flooding rose to 16 while the number of missing fell to at least 546, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday morning local time.
At least 261 foreigners are among the missing, including 18 US citizens, the authorities said during a press conference on Sunday.
The number of dead increased from the seven previously reported while the number of people missing dropped from 554.
Nepal authorities warn of increased flow at river near flood-hit area
Nepali authorities warned early Sunday local time of an increased flow of water at a river near the border with China.
“We request people in areas along the river in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading to stay alert.”
The river is near the area where catastrophic flooding hit earlier in the week.
Authorities sent a text message to residents at about 4:30 a.m local time, warning people in the area that the water level had risen and asking them to be alert, but did not ask them to evacuate.
There was no immediate mention of the higher river flows in Chinese media reports Sunday morning local time.
US providing $3.6 million of humanitarian aid to Nepal
The United States is providing $3.6 million worth of humanitarian aid to Nepal after disastrous flooding, the State Department announced Saturday — up from the $500,000 it announced two days ago.
The department said the US embassies in Nepal and China “are working closely to assist Americans and support disaster relief efforts.”
The State Department announced Thursday that the US was “quickly deploying” $500,000 in assistance to affected communities.
"It's been beyond 80 hours": US families desperate for updates on missing loved ones
Sneha Sudhir has been counting the hours since she was last in touch with her husband, as catastrophic flash flooding on the Nepal-China border this week – where he was traveling with friends – consumed entire neighborhoods.
Srinivas Sudhir Rangu was enjoying a long-anticipated hiking trip through Mount Kailash with nine other family friends, all US citizens, when the devastating flooding began Wednesday, his wife, Sneha Sudhir, said.
“It was supposed to be a simple, two-week Nepal hiking trip where he would go, have some good time with his boys and be back home,” Sudhir told Danny Freeman on CNN Newsroom.
“It’s been beyond 80 hours that I haven’t heard – the families have not heard – anything from them,” she said. The lively photo updates and communication from the group had suddenly stopped.
“It’s a family that’s out there. It’s 10 boys who are stuck there. Everyone is a great human being, a great dad, a great husband,” Sudhir said. “I don’t know where they are.”
Some of the hikers are elderly, need daily medical attention or take critical medications, she said.
“Eighty hours is way too long for them to be somewhere where they’re not taken care of,” Sudhir said.
Sudhir said she has received tremendous support from her community and has been in touch with members of Congress from Virginia, where she and her husband live.
Family of Atlanta traveler "hopes and prays" for answers
As flood victims are still missing, Gaurav Shanker Khare plans to go to Nepal in hopes of finding his brother Vivek Shankar Srivastav, whom he has been unable to contact since Wednesday.
Srivastav, who lives in Atlanta with his wife and son, was traveling to Mount Kailash Mansarovar with a group of 10 from the US.
Though Srivastav had been in contact with his son, they were unsure if his brother and his group of 10 made it to the other side of the border or where they were when the floods hit. While his wife has been in contact with other family members of the group, they have not received any updates.
Khare works in India on weather, climate filmmaking and disaster communication and said he “understand(s) how rapidly Himalayan flash floods, GLOF (glacial lake outburst flood) type events and sudden glacial failures can develop with virtually no time for conventional warning or preparedness.”
“Come home now. We are waiting.”
Follow the river down the path of destruction in Nepal and China
CNN has been using video footage and satellite imagery to map the immense scale of the disaster at the China-Nepal border.
In this interactive graphic, you can trace the path of the devastating flooding:
CNN’s Amy O’Kruk, Annette Choi, Byron Manley, Soph Warnes, Becky Pinnington, Rosa de Acosta, Marco Storel and Grace Widyatmadja contributed to this report.
“Nobody could help,” Ottawa woman says after hearing reports from Nepali hometown
Rojina Dhungana, who lives in Ottawa, Canada, has yet to hear from her parents herself, but managed to contact her brother, who let her know they were alive.
“I came to know that they are safe, but I haven’t heard their voices yet,” she told CNN news partner CBC, adding there are “no words” to describe what the past few days have been like.
She said she saw images and video of what’s left of her hometown of Trishuli Bazar, Nepal.
Her parent’s house was “safe” on a high hill during the flooding, Dhungana told CBC, but many others weren’t able to escape.
“The whole town was swept away, and … Nobody could help,” Dhungana said.
Dramatic video shows little girl pulled from rubble in Nepal days after flood
Nepal’s Armed Police Force (APF) has released dramatic video of a young girl’s rescue from a collapsed building. The girl was rescued Friday around 6 p.m. local time, according to APF, at an altitude of 2,200 meters near the Timure border patrol post.
Rescuers took her to a rescue camp that evening. According to an APF spokesperson, the girl only spoke on Saturday morning after resting overnight and eating some food. She told rescuers her name was Manisha and that she was 6 years old.
She is currently receiving treatment in Rasuwa. APF doesn’t know the whereabouts of her parents.
Anderson Cooper reports from Kathmandu as rescue efforts wind down for the night
Rescue operations in Nepal have largely paused for the night after a day of frantic search efforts across the region devastated by flash flooding on Wednesday.
Over 9,000 Nepali Army forces have been deployed for the operations. Aerial missions have been paused overnight, CNN’s Anderson Cooper reports from Kathmandu, noting that it would be too dangerous for helicopters to navigate remote areas in the darkness and rain.
Crews have been scouring the region for survivors and delivering aid and supplies as nearly 2,500 people in Nepal remain missing, according to the country’s Disaster Management Authority.
Reaching remote areas and clearing the countless roads destroyed or blocked by the flooding has become a major challenge for rescue operations, Cooper reports.
It's past midnight in Kathmandu. The flooding death toll rose Saturday as search continues
The death toll continues to rise as rescuers search for the roughly 3,000 people still missing across China and Nepal after catastrophic flooding on Wednesday.
According to Nepali authorities, at least 675 people have been killed in the country. And another 2,498 people were still missing as of Saturday evening local time, Nepal’s Disaster Management Authority reported. At least seven people have died in China, where official reports have been slow to come out of Tibet.
Catch up on the latest:
- Missing workers: Nearly 900 Nepali employees who had been working on hydropower projects are missing in the flooding, according to the country’s Independent Power Producers’ Association. About 361 workers from the industry have been rescued so far, the group said.
- Search and rescue efforts: Nepal’s Army said more than 2,500 people have been rescued by aerial evacuation, including 216 foreign nationals. At least 200 others have been rescued by ground. Some remote areas remain difficult to reach as teams try to access them by helicopter.
- Communities destroyed: CNN drone footage showed just half a bridge left standing and damaged homes in a mud-caked valley of Nepal’s Nuwakot district. The sound of heavy machinery filled another village in the region as excavators dug through rubble and residents searched for belongings.
- A searing image: A bunny toy covered in mud was found washed up on the riverbank at a rescue site near Gyirong Port, a Chinese border crossing with Nepal, according to the state media station Tibet Radio and Television. No sign of survivors has been found at the site since the rescue team arrived on Friday.
- Grieving from afar: Luminous, yellow candles lit a courtyard today in Sydney, where dozens of community members, Nepali diaspora and Australian officials gathered to commemorate those killed. And the Nepali community in Long Island, New York, came together to hold a vigil as they wait to hear news about missing friends and loved ones. In Bloomfield, New Jersey, neighbors have been stunned to learn that the parents of a 9-year-old boy are missing following the flooding.
CNN’s Bhadra Sharma, Sana Noor Haq, Rebekah Riess, Ross Adkin, Hanako Montgomery, Daniel Campisi, Sophie Tanno and Sylvie Zhuang contributed reporting.
Nepali flood survivors return to find community in ruins
Flood survivors have started to return to Trishuli, a village in Nepal’s hard-hit Nuwakot district, to collect belongings and survey damaged buildings among the piles of rubble and mud.
The sound of heavy machinery has filled the village as excavators sift through the wreckage left by this week’s devastating floods.
Colorado Springs business owner awaiting word from missing uncle caught in Nepali flood
Santosh Pandey and his father co-own Little Nepal Grocery in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They are trying to go about running their business while devastated by the news of the flooding in their home country and worrying over friends and family they haven’t been able to reach since it happened.
“I was totally devastated when I heard the news, and the whole family, including my dad and my mom, they were all saddened,” Pandey told CNN affiliate KRDO.
Pandey said his family has learned that his uncle was among those swept away by the surging waters. “He’s missing. He was swept by the flood, and we don’t know his whereabouts,” the co-owner of Little Nepal Grocery said.
While trying to contact loved ones in Nepal, the family, in conjunction with the Nepalese Association of Colorado Springs, is also working to rally local assistance for flood victims.
“We are trying to be together, gather … whatever the support we can gather from the community and send it back home,” Pandey told KRDO.
How families are searching for missing loved ones in Nepal
CNN’s Anderson Cooper has been reporting from a hospital and morgue in Kathmandu, Nepal, where families are trying to find information on their missing loved ones.
Here’s what we’ve learned on the ground:
CNN's Anderson Cooper reports from a hospital and morgue in Kathmandu, Nepal, where families are searching for information on their missing loved ones. Catastrophic flooding has devastated the region, leaving people scrambling to find victims.
More than 670 people killed in Nepal flash floods, local officials say
At least 675 people have been killed in Nepal following convulsive landslides along the Himalayan region on Wednesday, according to Nepali authorities, with thousands more residents missing.
As of Saturday evening local time, another 2,498 people are missing in the country, Nepal’s Disaster Management Authority reported.
The official death toll climbed by nearly 50 people over the space of six hours, according to a CNN tally of figures published by local officials. However, that figure is expected to rise even further, as critical rescue and recovery efforts are ongoing.
Nepali authorities are struggling to cope with the mounting number of recovered bodies. In the video below, officials prepare a mass burial site in the Chitwan district of Nepal:
