By Ingrid "Shortwave" Frost
Rescue crews pulled back from the epicenter of this week's catastrophic flooding on the Nepal-Tibet border on Friday, after Chinese state media reported that a lake formed by flood debris was at risk of bursting and unleashing a second wave of destruction.
The death toll in Nepal climbed past 470, with more than 1,300 people still listed as missing, according to Nepal police figures reported by The Guardian. Al Jazeera put the missing count even higher, at over 1,500, citing the ongoing search. The discrepancy underscores how fluid — and grim — the accounting still is, days after flash floods and landslides tore through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river basins.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that a lake formed by immense piles of debris had begun overflowing toward the area where rescue teams were headed, forcing China to pause operations there, The Guardian reported. The BBC quoted Chinese authorities warning of a "high risk" the lake could breach in the coming days, threatening a second flood on top of the first.
Across the border in Tibet, Al Jazeera reported that China has sent hundreds of military personnel to the town of Gyirong to help with search efforts after the mudslide wiped out areas nearby.
Many of the missing are believed to be tourists caught in the Himalayan basins when the water hit. In Australia, home to a sizable Nepali and Tibetan diaspora, community groups are organizing vigils and fundraising drives to coincide with a national day of mourning, The Guardian reported, even as families wait for word on missing relatives.
The scale of the disaster — hundreds dead, over a thousand missing, and a second flood still possible — makes this one of the deadliest Himalayan flood events in recent memory. It is not yet over.
FILED FROM SOMEWHERE WITH BAD COFFEE —
— Compiled from reporting by The Guardian, Al Jazeera and the BBC.
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