Over 150 people have been killed and hundreds of foreign tourists remain missing after flash floods tore through villages on the border between Nepal and China’s Tibet region, according to international media reports.
Hundreds missing after flood hits Nepal-China border, 157 bodies recovered
NEW YORK, Aug 27 (APP):Over 150 people have been killed and hundreds of foreign tourists remain missing after flash floods tore through villages on the border between Nepal and China’s Tibet region, according to international media reports.
In an update on Wednesday evening, Nepal police was cited as saying that 157 bodies had been recovered and more than 40 people were injured and receiving treatment in hospital.
Meanwhile, UN relief agencies reported aid efforts have been deployed to help provide emergency assistance.
UN agencies and humanitarian partners are already providing support to local authorities, said UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
“The Secretary-General is saddened by the severe flooding that we have saw earlier today in Nepal and in China, which has claimed many lives, left people missing and caused widespread destruction,” Dujarric said.
UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal Lila Pieters Yahia is coordinating relief efforts with partners in support of the government-led response “in an effort to meet what will clearly be massive humanitarian need”, the UN Spokesperson added.
According to the authorities in Nepal, some 10,000 households are in need of immediate relief.
Settlements, markets, roads, bridges and hydropower infrastructure were swept away or damaged, with roads cut off and electricity disrupted, the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, reported.
The humanitarian community is already providing emergency assistance and remains on standby to provide additional support as the needs become clearer.
“We are also supporting efforts to rapidly assess the scale of the disaster,” Dujarric said, noting ongoing assessment efforts.
“Our UN office in China is also reporting damage and significant numbers of casualties and destruction in the Tibet autonomous region of China. We, of course, stand ready to assist the Government-led efforts in China.”
Unrolling a swift response in the face of emergencies is among the UN’s top priorities, including providing rapid support for the severe flooding in Nepal, it was pointed out.
The UN’s humanitarian partners said they are also mobilizing in Nepal as Save the Children has started deploying staff to the flood-hit Nuwakot district and the Nepalese Red Cross has dispatched 200 emergency shelter packages.
