Nepal flood survivors search shifts to rescue and recovery
Five days after devastating floods, rescuers face rising rivers, blocked access and more than 2,500 people missing in Nepal.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
3 min read
The Nepal flood survivors search was entering a difficult new stage on Sunday, Aug. 30, with rescue crews still trying to reach battered communities five days after destructive waters tore through the Nepal-Tibet border region.
NBC News reported that Nepal’s disaster agency had recorded 781 deaths and more than 2,500 people missing in Nepal. The count included 592 foreign nationals. The Nepal Tourism Board said 289 foreign nationals had been rescued, according to NBC News.
The search is running alongside recovery work. NBC News reported that bodies had been swept downstream and some were recovered in condition that made identification difficult. Morgues were overwhelmed, while authorities collected DNA samples to help identify victims and inform relatives.
Why is the Nepal flood survivors search critical?
Access is one major problem. NBC News reported that rescuers were still struggling to reach devastated areas as heavy rain brought warnings of further flooding and rising rivers. A landslide-dammed lake above a border checkpoint was also reported to be overflowing.
Those threats leave crews working against changing conditions while families seek news of people who have not been found. NBC News’ team in Nepal spoke with a Massachusetts man who had arrived to search for his wife.
Some locations cannot be reached by road. Ariana News reported that destroyed roads and bridges, mud, floodwater and buried tunnel entrances had cut off parts of the affected area. It said helicopters were being used to evacuate survivors, move supplies and reach isolated communities, with poor weather and mountainous terrain adding to the challenge.
Ariana News also reported an urgent operation at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project, where crews had put a pipe into a tunnel and started pumping air inside while attempting to reach people who might be alive. It said 933 hydropower workers were reported missing, a figure that has not been independently confirmed in the material available.
What do the reported figures cover?
The Nepal tally should not be added to figures issued separately in China’s Tibet region. NBC News reported that China counted 16 deaths and 546 missing people there, including 261 foreign nationals, but said it was unclear how much overlap there was between the two missing-person counts.
The cause of the disaster also remains under investigation. NBC News reported that a glacier collapse was suspected and that the U.S. Geological Survey described the event as a slope failure whose debris flow and flooding traveled 62 miles. NBC News said determining the exact cause would take time.
For now, the operation is split between finding people who may still be alive and giving families answers as flood-hit communities face the risk of more rain and unstable conditions.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.