LIVE | Toll crosses 500; over 300 Indians still missing

Telangana govt trying to trace 22 people unaccounted for after Nepal floods

The Telangana government is trying to trace 22 people from the state whose whereabouts remain unknown after flash floods in Nepal.

The helpline set up at Telangana Bhavan in New Delhi has received 80-100 calls from family members and others seeking information and assistance since it was established on August 26.

After preliminary scrutiny and verification of the information received, 20 cases involving 23 people have been identified for further action and coordination. Of the 23, six are from Telangana, and 17 are Telangana-origin non-resident Indians, a release said.

A man from Ranga Reddy district who had undertaken the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra has since been confirmed safe and contacted his family, it said.

Follow-up is continuing in respect of the remaining 22 people in coordination with the authorities concerned, the release said.

Several of those whose whereabouts remain unknown were travelling in the Nepal-Tibet region, including those travelling to or returning from the Mansarovar Yatra. Their last known locations include areas around Rasuwa, Rasuwagadhi and Gyirong along the Nepal-Tibet border, it said.

On the instructions of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Telangana Bhavan officials are maintaining continuous coordination with the Telangana Secretariat, Ministry of External Affairs, Embassy of India and other authorities to trace the people concerned, ascertain their safety and facilitate necessary assistance.

China issues alert after devastating flash floods at Tibet-Nepal border

China has sounded a Level-IV alert following the devastating flash floods at the Tibet-Nepal border, warning that a newly formed barrier lake at the confluence of two rivers faces a high risk of breaching and flooding downstream areas.

China's Ministry of Water Resources on Thursday night sounded an emergency in the Tibet Autonomous Region, cautioning of a threat posed by the barrier lake, which formed near the confluence of Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers.

These rivers originate in Tibet and flow into Nepal as part of the Bhote Koshi river system.

China’s emergency response system for natural disasters has four levels, with Level-I being the highest and Level IV the lowest.

The lake has accumulated an estimated two million cubic metres of water as of Thursday morning, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

According to forecasts, inflows into the lake could reach about three million cubic metres over the next three days amid continued rainfall, increasing the risk of a breach that could send floodwaters downstream and potentially cause further damage in areas including Gyirong Port at the China-Nepal border and elsewhere downstream.

In response, the ministry has instructed local authorities to closely monitor the barrier lake and rainfall, strengthen forecasting and risk assessments, and accurately identify people living in areas that could be affected downstream, it said.

China, meanwhile, has deployed satellites and drones to aid the rescue efforts in the flash floods-hit area near the Nepal border in Tibet.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) said it has deployed satellite resources to conduct emergency imaging of the affected area and retrieve historical imagery.

Death toll in Nepal floods climbs to 469

The death toll from flash floods in central Nepal rose to 469 on Friday (August 28), with more bodies recovered as search and rescue operations continued for the third day following the disaster.

In a statement, Nepal Police said the bodies were recovered from eight districts of the Himalayan nation.

According to the police, 178 dead bodies have been recovered from Chitwan, 110 from Nawalparasi East, 44 from Gorkha, 37 from Nuwakot and 33 from Dhading district.

Similarly, 28 bodies have been recovered from Tanahu, 27 from Nawalparasi West and 12 from Rasuwa.

So far, 1,545 injured and stranded people have been rescued from various affected regions. Among them, 84 are currently undergoing treatment in various hospitals in Kathmandu.

Search and rescue operations continued for the third day of the tragic incident with the mobilisation of 7,451 security personnel, including 2,391 Nepal Army personnel, the statement said.

UP intensifies monitoring of Gandak, other rivers; 2 districts on high alert

The administration has sounded a high alert in Maharajganj and Kushinagar districts of Uttar Pradesh and stepped up monitoring of the Gandak and other water bodies downstream of rivers in Nepal, following devastating flash floods in the neighbouring country that have killed at least 177 people and left thousands missing.

The administration in UP, which shares its northern borders with Nepal, is focusing on river monitoring, alerting vulnerable villages and keeping relief-and-rescue teams ready.

The UP government has deployed a 32-member SDRF platoon and 22 PAC personnel to Nepal for rescue and relief operations following directions from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, an official statement said.

Four rubber boats are available and an aluminium boat is also being sent with an additional SDRF platoon. The relief commissioner's control room is monitoring border districts, while families of stranded UP residents can contact the 1070 helpline, it said.

290 Indians uncontactable

India is making urgent efforts to trace its nationals, with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) saying 290 Indian nationals remain uncontactable.

New Delhi is making "urgent efforts" to ascertain their whereabouts and coordinate their rescue, the ministry said.

The MEA said 84 Indian nationals had been rescued, including 63 workers employed at the under-construction Trishuli-I run-of-river hydroelectric project and 21 from Tamil Nadu.

Around 200 Indian nationals on the Tibet side have sought assistance for evacuation, the MEA said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, after a high-level meeting attended virtually by India's envoys in Kathmandu and Beijing, said urgent efforts were underway to ascertain the status and well-being of Indians in the flood-affected areas.

He said the ministry was coordinating with the Nepalese side, other ministries, state governments, tour operators and relevant authorities.

India has also stepped up relief assistance to Nepal. After sending 10 tonnes of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) material on Wednesday, it sent another 37.5 tonnes of HADR material, medicines and food packets on Thursday in a military transport aircraft, taking the total dispatched to 47.5 tonnes.