Here's the latest
• Rescue efforts: A search is underway for more than 900 missing workers at various hydropower projects in Nepal after Wednesday’s catastrophic flooding. Emergency workers have pumped air and dropped food into one tunnel but have yet to establish communication with anyone inside.
• Devastating toll: At least 788 people have died in Nepal, where authorities are struggling to cope with the mounting number of bodies, and at least 16 have died in China. More than 3,000 people are still missing across both countries, as complex search efforts continue in remote areas where roads and other infrastructure has crumbled.
• Fresh flooding risk: A landslide detected on Saturday evening created a new barrier lake on a river near the disaster zone, prompting the evacuation of rescuers in China, state media reports.
Police in Nepal say at least 788 people now confirmed dead
At least 788 people have been killed in Nepal following huge torrents along the Nepal-China border on Wednesday, according to local police.
As of Sunday evening local time, 2,742 people had been injured, Nepal Police said.
Poster wall at Kathmandu hospital shows missing people, and the number is growing
At the T.U. Teaching Hospital in the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, the wall outside is now covered with hundreds of posters of missing people — a haunting reminder of the immense scale of the flooding disaster.
As of Sunday afternoon local time, more than 2,000 names of those missing have been registered, according to police at the help desk outside the hospital.
Families have been flying into Kathmandu from around the world to try to ramp up the search for their relatives.
A CNN team on the ground witnessed how the wall was so tightly packed with photos – that some people had to scale it to find space to add their posters.
Death toll in Nepal from floods and landslides climbs above 760
The death toll from severe flooding along the Nepal-China border on Wednesday has climbed to 762 in Nepal, local police said, as rescue crews scour devastated neighborhoods for survivors.
As of Sunday afternoon local time, 2,715 people had been injured, Nepali police said.
In pictures: Aftermath of flooding in Nepal, as death toll passes 700
Nepali flood survivors have begun returning to mud-covered homes to search for their belongings
Meanwhile, as we’ve been reporting today, relatives of those missing are still desperately searching for updates on their loved ones.
Here are some of the latest images from Nepal.
Families of engineers trapped in tunnel share their last known whereabouts
Relatives of people believed trapped in a tunnel at one of several hydropower plants hit in the China-Nepal border floods on Wednesday remain hopeful of positive news.
Two of those still missing, mechanical engineers Rajendra Dhakal and Aavash Neupane, were last seen at the Trishuli-3A site in Nepal, where rescuers have worked through the night.
The pair are among more than 930 workers unaccounted for at various hydropower projects in the country’s flood zone.
Neupane’s cousin Sadikshya Pandey was at work when she learnt he was missing.
“On my break I was scrolling through my phone and saw devastating news,” she told CNN.
“My sister tried to ring him around 10am. The number said out of reach and she tried again around 11am and the phone was switched off.”
The family believes Neupane was working at his office when disaster struck and are still optimistic for his return. “Families are losing hope but I still believe my cousin is out there awaiting help. I wish he come back home soon and safe,” Pandey added.
Abhishek Khatiwada believes his missing cousin, Rajendra Dhakal, is also inside the project’s tunnel network –– which stretches more than four kilometers, according to documents from the Nepal Electricity Authority.
“As of now, Rajendra is still out of contact and we believe he is inside the tunnel along with 35 plus other human lives,” Khatiwada told CNN.
“The authorities are making every possible effort to excavate the tunnel and are trying different approaches to reach them. I, along with all our family members, remain hopeful and are praying for their safe rescue.”
"I feel so lost": Woman in Nepal loses 17 family members in flooding
Kopila Tamang’s family survived the devastating Nepal earthquake in 2015, but their home was destroyed.
This time, the floods took a newly-built house along with 17 members of her family.
“I feel so alone,” Tamang tells CNN. “I feel so lost.”
Tamang – who is from one of the worst-hit areas in Rasuwa – was in Kathmandu when the flooding hit, and rushed back to the mountains when she heard what happened.
The 20-year-old lost her mother, sister and grandmother – along with other relatives including a one-month old nephew. Now, all she has left are the photos of them on her phone.
Her seven-year-old brother is too young to understand what happened, she said, and still believes their mother will return.
“He’s so little,” she said. “He thinks she will come back.”
“Now, I am the mother for him, so I have to be strong,” she said.
Her cousin, 17-year-old Subba Tamang, lost his two little sisters, one-year-old Anjana and five-year-old Archana.
“It’s really hard to believe that I lost my siblings,” he said. “They are buried too young.”
He is now sleeping on a rooftop of an unfinished building in Bidur, with 50 other displaced men and boys.
“Many people cry here at night, remembering their family members,” he said. “It’s very hard to sleep here.”
Along with the overwhelming grief, the displaced families are also living in fear of another flood, and at nights they often flee up higher into the forest when they hear warnings that more floods are coming.
"I only have the clothes I'm wearing," Nepal resident in shelter says
Alongside the Trishuli River in the town of Bidur, 40 homes from one riverside community were washed away in Wednesday’s catastrophic flooding.
The 200 people living there managed to run up the hill to safety, with minutes to spare. But now they face an uncertain future.
One of those made homeless, 39-year-old Ganga Maya Tamang, is now living in a makeshift shelter on higher ground.
“We lost everything in the flood,” Tamang told CNN. “I only have the clothes I’m wearing.”
Around 100 women and children are staying in a building normally used as a yoga center, repurposing the yoga mats to sleep on.
Under the constant churn of relief helicopters from overhead, the families in this community are now reliant on aid arriving from the capital Kathmandu to survive.
The water system in Bidur was completely destroyed, so they are collecting water in buckets and bottles from truck deliveries.
Landslide forms new barrier lake near China-Nepal border
A landslide yesterday formed a new barrier lake on a river near the China-Nepal border, prompting rescue personnel near the Gyirong Port to evacuate, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
A monitoring drone detected the landslide on a mountain slope about 2.8 kilometers (1.7 miles) downstream from an existing barrier lake on the Purepu Tsangpo River, according to China’s Ministry of Emergency Management.
The latest landslide created a new blockage in the river and formed another barrier lake, authorities said.
Flood death toll rises again, Nepali agency says
The death toll from the massive floods unleashed in Nepal on Wednesday has risen to 752, according to Nepali authorities, with 2,502 people still missing.
The country’s disaster risk reduction agency said today hat nearly 20,000 security personnel had been mobilized for rescue efforts, and so far 8,730 people had been rescued.
Earlier, Chinese authorities confirmed at least 16 people had died on in the Tibet region, with 546 people missing, which includes 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries. The Tibet Autonomous Region government said 104 are Nepali, and there are also 49 unaccounted for from India, 33 from Latvia, 18 from the US and 15 from the UK.
Family searches for keepsakes in mud-filled Nepal home after floods
Family photos, spiritual statues, and reminders of his missing father: These are some of the things Sumit Nepal hoped to find when he returned to his home in Devighat searching for anything salvageable among the mud and debris that engulfed much of the village.
“But there was nothing left,” Nepal told CNN.
His father Navaraj, 42, remains missing. His last known whereabouts was meters from the China-Nepal border crossing that was engulfed in flood water earlier this week.
“Father where are you? Please be safe and contact us,” he said.
For now, all he has to remember his home in happier times is a photo of him and his father standing by the front door on a sunny day and another of him with his mother, inside on the stairs.
People cut off by flood damage in urgent need of clean water: WaterAid director
People cut off by flood damage in Nepal are in urgent need of clean water to prevent disease spread, according to an aid chief who raised concerns of damaged pipes and contaminated drinking sources.
“The biggest concern is that dirty water can spread disease, so people need clean water for drinking and washing as quickly as possible, alongside urgent help for those still stranded,” Sudarshan Neupane, country director of WaterAid Nepal, told CNN on Sunday.
“Besides, there is a real danger of disease outbreak from the decayed bodies and animals, as we have seen in other disasters.”
The immediate priorities are to rescue those still trapped, get clean water and essential supplies to affected families and restore electricity and water connections, Neupane said.
In the longer term, national and international financing is needed “to repair and strengthen damaged water systems, help communities prepare for future floods and reduce the risk of disease,” he added.
The latest on flood rescue efforts at the Nepal-China border, as death toll climbs
We’ve been continuing to report on search and rescue efforts after Wednesday’s deadly flooding near the Nepal-China border.
Survivors have begun returning to mud-caked homes to search for their belongings as relatives of those missing are still desperately searching for updates on their loved ones.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Death toll climbs: At least 750 people have died in the disaster. In China, 16 people were killed and 546 people are missing, according to authorities on Sunday local time. Chinese officials added that no more survivors have been found yet. Eighteen Americans are among the at least 261 foreigners missing in China. In Nepal, at least 734 died with 2,498 missing.
- Rescue efforts: Rescuers have been using heavy equipment to clear debris in tunnels at hydropower projects along the Trishuli river, where about 900 employees are still missing. They have pumped air and sent food through holes bored into the tunnels.
- New barrier lake: A landslide on Saturday evening created another barrier lake near the Nepal-China border, prompting the evacuation of rescue personnel near Gyirong Port, Chinese state media reported.
- US aid: The State Department said the United States is providing $3.6 million of humanitarian aid to Nepal, up from the $500,000 it announced earlier. It includes emergency food assistance for up to 10,000 flood-affected households, the State Department said.
- Victims’ burial: Workers are preparing a mass burial site in Nepal’s Chitwan region. Footage from a CNN team on the ground showed workers in hazmat suits placing body bags into the back of a van.
American tourist says visa denial “saved my life,” after close call with floods
An American citizen said he feels “super happy and lucky to be alive” after he narrowly avoided the flash floods in Nepal.
47-year-old Roman Shteynshlyuger is now in the US after returning from Nepal, where he was supposed to join a trekking tour to Tibet. He said he dropped out of the tour after his Chinese visa was denied.
Shteynshlyuger went to hike Everest Base Camp instead, then flew to the US. He joined a party for his mother’s 70th birthday in Brooklyn on Saturday, and said he felt “unimaginable joy and happiness to be here.”
“I’m glad I wasn’t there, but I feel sad for the families,” he said. “It was shocking.”
He had been on a list of “missing” American passport holders in the flood, but he has now informed the authorities that he is safe.
In an email seen by CNN, Nepal Tourist Police responded saying “we are so glad to hear this news,” adding “have a great and prosperous life ahead.”
Shteynshlyuger moved to the US from Ukraine in 1991, and has been living in Puerto Rico in 2020. His family lives in Brooklyn.
13-year-old Nepali who escaped floods on school bus: "The water was chasing us"
A 13-year-old Nepali girl told CNN she was nearly washed away by the floods as she rode on her school bus to safety.
“At first, the teachers knew that a big flood was coming,” 13-year-old Rojina Bhatta said. “They instructed us to leave the school and go to a safe location.”
The driver “drove extremely fast” and got them to safety, she said, after picking up some other students on the way.
“The water was chasing us,” Rojina recounted. “Everyone on the bus was scared and crying.”
Her school, Trishuli High School, was completely washed away in the flood. But the driver managed to save around 50 children on the bus.
“When I recall that terrifying moment, I still get scared,” she said.
Bhatta’s father, Rajendra Bhatta, witnessed the flooding from near their home in Bidur, seeing dozens of homes washed away, along with a bridge and a newly-built road.
“The water in the river was roaring as if it were flying,” 38-year-old Bhatta said. “I saw it jumping into the sky.”
“Not just me, but my father and grandfather also never witnessed such a devastating flood in their lifetimes,” he said.
Bhatta has 30 buffalo across the river, which he now can’t access due to the bridges being destroyed. But he’s just grateful his family survived.
Chinese officials list nationalities of foreigners missing in Tibet after flooding
For the first time, Chinese authorities on Sunday provided a breakdown of the nationalities of foreigners missing in the Tibet region following the flooding disaster on the Nepal-China border.
261 foreign nationals from 23 countries are missing:
- 104 from Nepal
- 49 from India
- 33 from Latvia
- 18 from the United States
- 15 from the United Kingdom
- 6 each from Canada and Australia
- 4 from South Africa
- 3 each from Russia, Malaysia and Germany
- 2 each from the Netherlands, New Zealand, Estonia, France and Ireland
- 1 each from Finland, Lithuania, Portugal, Ukraine, Spain, Hungary and Kazakhstan
Rescuers using heavy machinery to remove debris at hydropower plant as river rises
Rescue teams are facing challenging conditions as they race to rescue workers in tunnels of hydropower plants, with water levels of the nearby river rising once again early Sunday morning local time.
“The water level of Trishuli River increased by 5 to 10 meters due to floods at the planned site again at around 4 a.m. today,” said the Nepali prime minister’s office on Sunday, referring to the Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower plant.
“The flood has started to cut the river banks off,” it said. “Road access to tunnel has been blocked and preparations are underway to make helicopter landing possible and recover important equipment.”
The office added that crews were using heavy equipment to remove debris, and that a special force is preparing to recover parts of the hydropower facility, its CCTV cameras, and other equipment.
Preparations underway for mass burial of flood victims in Nepal
Some viewers may find this footage distressing.
Workers are preparing a burial site in Nepal’s Chitwan region after Wednesday’s catastrophic floods.
Footage from a CNN team on the ground shows workers in hazmat suits placing body bags into the back of a van on Saturday night.
In another scene, diggers broke into the earth to prepare a mass burial site.
More than 700 people have died in Nepal and at least 16 have been killed in China.
Local police previously told CNN Chitwan officials are planning to bury hundreds of unidentified bodies in a mass grave at a sacred Hindu site. Authorities are struggling to cope with the number of already decomposing bodies.
Rescuers are sending food into hydropower tunnels where workers may be missing
Rescue teams at a hydropower plant in Nepal are sending food into a tunnel through holes bored by machines as they search for possible survivors inside.
More than 930 workers are unaccounted for at various hydropower projects in the flood zone in Nepal.
At the Trishuli–3A project, rescue workers have worked through the night as they try establish contact with anyone who might be inside the projects tunnels –– which stretch more than four kilometers according to documents from the Nepal Electricity Authority.
“Of late, two holes (were) created to send oxygen, light and food,” said Mohan Shakya, spokesperson at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, on Sunday morning.
“Efforts are underway to rescue people by breaking the tunnel from other ways. We are sending more drilling equipment and explosive items.”
He added that Chinese and Indian teams, who arrived in the country on Saturday, are helping the rescue effort at the tunnel. “We haven’t stopped the work even in the night,” he said, adding that work continues even with light rain in the area.
Flood death toll in Nepal and China reaches 750 people
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.
What Chinese authorities have said during a news conference on the flood rescue
Chinese authorities held a press conference on Sunday, sharing updates and details about rescue operations after catastrophic flooding hit Gyirong Port in Tibet.
Here’s what they said:
Victims
The death toll rose to 16 while the number of missing fell to at least 546. At least 261 foreigners are among the missing, including 18 US citizens.
Survivors
No more survivors have been found yet in China.
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.
Barrier lake
A barrier lake formed near the flood zone at the Nepal-China border from an initial landslide has overflowed, but the situation is stable.
“The barrier lake has already overflowed and started to discharge water,” officials said.
“Currently, the overall situation is stable and the possibility of a complete breach is relatively low.”
CNN’s Simone McCarthy and Laura Sharman contributed reporting.
