Families have flooded hospitals and emergency centres in Nepal as rescue teams search for hundreds of people still missing after devastating floods and mudslides killed at least 180 people.
The disaster struck the Nepal-Tibet border region on Wednesday, sending a massive wall of water and mud through communities along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers.
Nepali police said they had recovered 177 bodies, while the overall death toll had risen to at least 180 as authorities continued recovery operations.
### Families Desperately Search For Relatives
At a hospital in Kathmandu, anxious relatives searched through lists of survivors and victims, hoping to find missing family members.
Among them was Subash Khatani, who was looking for his elder brother, Ram Sharan Rasaili, who went missing in the worst-affected Rasuwa district.
“My elder brother Ram Sharan Rasaili is among those missing in Rasuwa. That’s why we are out searching for him,” Khatani said.
Another relative, Chitra Bahadur Nepali, was searching for his nephew, Yubraj Sewak, a driver who was travelling towards Rasuwa when contact was lost.
Nepali said his nephew was last in contact with the family at about 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
“We have not heard from him since the flood,” he said, adding that another member of the family was also missing.
### Hundreds Still Unaccounted For
Nepal’s disaster agency said 823 people remained out of contact more than 24 hours after the disaster.
The floods began in Rasuwa in northern Nepal before spreading southward, with deaths reported across seven districts. Floodwaters travelled more than 160 kilometres towards Chitwan, close to the Indian border.
Rescue teams have been searching through affected communities for survivors while families continue moving between hospitals, police stations and emergency centres.
Bir Hospital in Kathmandu said it would treat victims free of charge and was prepared to handle the influx of patients.
### Glacial Collapse Blamed For Disaster
The cause of the disaster was initially unclear, but the US Geological Survey attributed the catastrophic flooding to a glacial collapse that triggered seismic activity and sent huge volumes of water and debris downstream through Nepal and Tibet.
The disaster also caused significant loss of life and widespread destruction in Tibet.
Chinese state media reported that three people had died in Tibet, while 558 people, including 260 foreigners, remained missing.
With hundreds still unaccounted for, rescue operations are continuing as authorities work to locate survivors and recover victims from communities devastated by the floods.
