THE TAKEAWAY
- At least 644 people have been reported missing, including 65 Americans.
- Nepal Police say 270 bodies have been recovered.
- USGS determined a glacial collapse triggered a massive debris flow.
RASUWA, Nepal – Hundreds of people are missing, including 65 American tourists, after a destructive glacial collapse triggered catastrophic flash flooding that devastated the Rasuwa District in the Himalayan Region of Nepal on Wednesday.
Nearly 360 people have died, according to Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Reuters, over 1,000 people remain missing, with the Nepal Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying this includes 66 Americans, 35 Australians, 25 Canadians, and 33 British.
The U.S. State Department says three Americans have been rescued, with the Nepal Tourism Board reporting that two of those individuals are 52-year-old Anjana Raja and 55-year-old Pattabiraman Venkatesan.
At approximately 8:30 a.m. local time (around 10:45 p.m. ET Tuesday), catastrophic flash flooding swept through the Bhote Koshi River, destroyed buildings and damaged roads, bridges, electricity infrastructure and communications.
Aerial analysis of the Nepal flood.
The flood entered Nepal from Tibet and struck Rasuwagadhi, Timure, Syafrubesi and surrounding areas of Rasuwa District, the U.S. Department of State said.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said, “An initial study based on the analysis of satellite images by Planet Labs indicates that a glacier-inclusive flood occurred in the Lhende River due to a snow-rock landslide that took place on the Nepal-China border approximately 20 kilometers northeast of the Nepal-China Rasuwagadhi border crossing.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X, “We express our solidarity and are united in prayer for the Nepali people following the devastating floods,” adding that the State Department stands ready to support Nepal’s government with needed humanitarian assistance.
In a press release, the NTB said, “Nepal Tourism Board, Tourist Police and tourism stakeholders are working to verify the whereabouts and safety status of tourists and travelers who were in or traveling through the affected areas.”
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), there was an initial report of a magnitude 4.4 earthquake. However, that has since been changed.
“Additional analysis of long period seismic waves indicate that the seismic energy was instead generated by a landslide,” the USGS said. “The shaking caused by the landslide was equal to a magnitude 5.2 earthquake.”
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) determined that the seismic event was a glacial collapse and debris flow that caused subsequent catastrophic impacts downstream.
The U.S. Embassy in Nepal has said that they are working to account for U.S. citizens who may have been affected by the Rasuwa flooding.
Stay with FOX Weather as this story continues to develop.
The Wrap | Fears grow over more floods in Nepal