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117 tourists rescued from flood-hit areas in Nepal

A total of 117 tourists have been brought to safety from flood-hit areas of Nepal, according to the Nepal Tourism Board, reported the Hindustan Times.

Among those rescued are 85 Indian nationals and 16 Chinese tourists. The group also includes nine South Koreans, two Americans and two Italians.

Three other tourists have yet to be identified.

Nepal floods disrupt India trade, 16-km truck queue at Sonauli, UP

Flash floods in Nepal have disrupted trade with India, leaving cargo trucks stranded at the Sonauli border in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj. Around 16 km of vehicles are backed up as damaged and flooded roads slow movement into Nepal.

Trucks bound for Kathmandu and other destinations are facing delays, with the line stretching towards Nautanwa and raising concerns about traffic on the national highway. Police and security agencies are regulating vehicle movement.

Circle Officer Basant Singh said, "Surveillance at the Sonauli border has been intensified, and police station heads in the border areas have been directed to remain alert."

The floods have also forced some Maharajganj residents working in Nepal to return home. Raj Kumar Gautam, a furniture worker in Kathmandu for nearly a year, escaped the floods and began his journey back to his village.

Across the border area, officials have stepped up monitoring. In neighbouring Kushinagar, teams are watching the 17.5-km embankment between Narwajot and Ahirauli, while NDRF, SDRF, PAC and water police personnel remain deployed.

Xi Chairs meeting on Tibet-Nepal flood rescue efforts

Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a Communist Party meeting on Friday as authorities assessed the severe flooding along the Tibet-Nepal border, where hundreds have died and many remain missing.

The meeting focused on rescue and relief measures after flash floods struck Gyirong County in Tibet Autonomous Region on Wednesday. Xi and other leaders observed a moment of silence for those killed, state-run Xinhua reported.

Officials said rescue work had begun quickly, while efforts were underway to relocate people affected by the floods. Plans were also ordered for the search and rescue of missing Chinese and foreign nationals.

Nepal’s flood death toll stood at 469, while three people died in Tibet. More than 550 people were missing in Tibet, and 100 Chinese nationals remained untraced in Nepal. About 1,000 people, including 555 tourists, were evacuated.

China has issued a Level-IV alert over a barrier lake formed where the Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers meet. The lake poses a high risk of flooding downstream.

Nepal rejects foreign rescue teams after deadly floods

Nepal has declined offers from several countries to send search and rescue teams after devastating flash floods hit settlements near the China border. The government said its army, police and other agencies were handling the operation.

At least 475 people have died while more than 1,500 remain missing. Rescue workers are searching through mud and debris as newly formed lakes raise fears of further flooding.

“The offer for help is natural. Our security agencies are doing the search and rescue operation. For now we don’t require such help,” Nepal’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri said as quoted by Reuters.

India, China, the US, UK, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had offered assistance. Nepal's decision reportedly followed advice from its army and police, with officials citing coordination problems during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake.

India has already sent 47.5 tonnes of emergency supplies in two IAF flights. “Whatever request has been made by Nepal, we are acting on that,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Thursday as quoted by the Hindustan Times.

Nepal is seeking financial assistance through the Prime Minister Relief Fund. Its Foreign Ministry has also set up an Emergency Response Team for foreign nationals affected by the floods.

“The ERT shall serve as the central coordinating body within the ministry to facilitate search, rescue, information verification, and consular assistance in respect of foreign nationals affected by, missing in, or otherwise connected to the flood incident,” the ministry said.

Tamil Nadu residents rescued in Nepal reach Kathmandu ahead of return

Twenty-one residents from Tamil Nadu who were rescued have arrived in Kathmandu, the Ministry of External Affairs said. They are now preparing to return to India, reported ANI.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava met the rescued group in Kathmandu and enquired about their well-being.

The group’s arrival in the Nepalese capital comes before their journey back to India.

Efforts underway to facilitate return of those stranded in flood-hit Nepal: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that efforts were underway to ensure the safety and return of those from the state, who have been stranded due to the devastating flash floods in Nepal.

He, however, did not mention the number of missing people from the state.

''We are aware of people from Assam stranded in Nepal amid the ongoing floods. We are in touch with their families and coordinating with relevant agencies to ensure their safety and earliest possible return home," Sarma said on X on Thursday.

The state government has set up a flood-related emergency help desk at Assam House, New Delhi and the helpline numbers are 011-23010299/98 and 28877111 (emergency assistance numbers), 9101089151 (Anuran Medhi) and 892057057 (Vinod Kalita).

‘A second life’: Nepal flood survivors recount terrifying escape, loss, devastation

For Raju Budhathoki, a customs agent in Nepal's Rasuwa district, Wednesday morning began like any other day but soon turned into a desperate fight for survival as the ground shook and raging floodwaters swept away homes before his eyes.

Budhathoki was resting in his room in Timure when, around 8:45 am (local time), the hillside began shaking violently, according to a report by The Kathmandu Post. Believing an earthquake had struck, he ran outside and towards a nearby police post, only to find policemen themselves fleeing the area.

As he scrambled over a wire fence, he injured his hand but kept running. Looking back, he saw houses in the Timure market being swept away one after another by the floodwaters.

He eventually reached a forest about 500 metres uphill, where he took shelter and survived.

“From the forest, when I looked down at Timure, I never imagined I would get a second chance at life like this. Now everything feels like a terrible dream,” the newspaper quoted him as saying from his hospital bed in Trishuli.

Budhathoki was among the survivors of the catastrophic Bhote Koshi flash flood and landslides that devastated the Nepal-Tibet border area in Rasuwagadhi and several settlements downstream.

Police and rescue teams had recovered hundreds of bodies by Thursday night, while hundreds more remained missing.

Another customs agent, Prakash Gautam, also described a terrifying escape from Timure.

Gautam told The Kathmandu Post that a loud rumbling sound was followed within moments by darkness engulfing the market and a black cloud covering the sky.

“I ran out of my room without knowing what I was doing. I had no idea where to go or which way to run. I just wanted to survive,” he said.

“From the forest above, I could see bodies scattered and floating in the floodwaters. Before my eyes, beautiful Timure was reduced to ruins. The houses and settlements were swept away. Now there is nothing but a vast expanse of sand and mud,” he said.

Unable to be rescued during the day, Gautam and others spent Wednesday night in a forest, surviving on packets of noodles dropped by a Nepal Army helicopter, according to the report.

A Nepal Army helicopter arrived around 10 am on Thursday and flew them to Bidur.

“Only after boarding the helicopter did I feel that I had actually survived,” Gautam said.

For Tulsi Bahadur Bhandari of Dolakha, survival came after he was violently thrown towards a hillside by the floodwaters.

A torrent of black mud and water suddenly engulfed the settlement, collapsing houses one after another, Bhandari told the newspaper.

“I ran. But the force of the flood hit me and threw me violently,” he said, adding that being pushed towards the slope prevented him from being swept away.

“If the current had not thrown me towards the slope, I would not be alive today,” he said.

At hospitals and shelters in Bidur, Trishuli and Kathmandu, survivors are now recovering from their injuries while struggling to process the loss of homes, relatives, colleagues and friends.

Ram Kumar Rana, who was caring for injured relatives at a hospital, said some people were buried under sand and mud as they tried to flee the flood.

“The surge hit them as they were running and buried them. Rescue teams, with the help of helicopters, later pulled them out and brought them here,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.

He said children panicked amid the chaos, with some falling and suffering injuries.

The destruction has also left families across the affected districts desperately searching for missing relatives.

In Trishuli in Nuwakot district, families gathered at Sainik Maidan on Thursday to provide information about those who had disappeared.

“My father is there. He worked at a hydropower project in the affected area. He is missing. He was on duty that morning, and we have not been able to contact him since,” a local resident told PTI Videos.

Rescue teams from the Nepal Army and other security agencies have continued searching for survivors and those still missing in Rasuwa, Dhading, Nuwakot and Chitwan districts.

A rescue team member told PTI Videos that the full scale of the casualties was yet to be established, with initial reports indicating a massive loss of life and nearly 1,000 people missing.

The flash flood, which originated in the Tibet region and surged into the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems, washed away bridges and local structures and severely damaged infrastructure, the rescue team member said.

Khagendra Sunar, a member of Nepal's Parliament, said relocating survivors to safer areas and rebuilding the devastated settlements would require considerable time.

“Restoring the markets and the area will certainly take a lot of time. But the people who have survived need to be shifted to safer places,” Sunar told PTI Videos.

“Every party is contributing as this is a major disaster. It is not just the government's responsibility; it is the responsibility of all of us,” he said.

The devastating floods have also affected foreign nationals. Thousands remain missing, including nationals of more than 30 countries, while 288 Indian nationals are among those unaccounted for, according to Nepalese and Indian authorities.

As rescue operations continue, survivors are left to confront a painful reality: they escaped the waters, but many have returned to find their homes, workplaces and communities erased.

For those who survived, the relief of being alive is now intertwined with the grief of those who did not make it out.

Nepal issues fresh flood warning after water levels rise

Nepal authorities issued a new flood warning Friday after water levels rose at the site of a deadly flash flood earlier this week. People and rescue workers were told to move to safer ground as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority warned of another possible flood.

The alert follows Wednesday’s flash flood in Rasuwa and other parts of central Nepal, which killed hundreds and damaged settlements, roads, bridges and hydropower facilities.

“The water level mixed with mud has increased at the same place where the flash flood occurred on Wednesday, and there is a risk of more flooding in the area,” the authority said.

Police also warned that a water dam on the Tibetan side had burst again. “Information has been received that the water dam on the Tibetan side has burst again,” Nepal Police said on X.

A new barrier lake near the Nepal-China border contains about 2 million cubic metres of water, with another 3 million cubic metres potentially flowing in over three days.

Tibetan-side dam bursts again: Nepal Police

Nepal Police said that a water dam on the Tibetan side has burst again, raising fresh concerns in the aftermath of the deadly floods that struck the Nepal-China border.

The latest warning comes as rescue teams continue working in disaster-hit areas. Authorities have also warned of the risk of further flooding as water builds up behind debris in the affected region.

Reuters reported on Friday that an overflow from a lake formed by a landslide had forced Nepalese and Chinese rescue workers to temporarily halt operations in parts of the disaster zone.

Nepal warns residents after dam bursts in Tibet: Report

Nepal has urged rescuers and residents to head to safer, higher ground after authorities received reports that a dam upstream in Tibet had burst, police said on Friday.

The warning was issued two days after a glacial collapse caused deadly flooding in Nepal.

“Information has been received that a water dam has burst again on the Tibetan side,” Nepal Police said, as per AFP.