4 minWorld
Roughly 80 Americans unaccounted for after Himalayan flood kills 903 in Nepal
The State Department says about 80 American citizens remain unaccounted for following last week's catastrophic flooding in Nepal, where the death toll has risen to 903 and roughly 4,200 people are still missing.
Roughly 80 American citizens remain unaccounted for following the catastrophic Himalayan flood that struck Nepal last week, the State Department said, as the country's death toll climbed to 903 with thousands more still missing.
The update marks a decrease from an earlier estimate of at least 90 Americans who went missing near the Nepal-China border. A State Department spokesperson confirmed that 13 American citizens have made their way to safety in Nepal. The disaster occurred in north-central Nepal when a distant slope failure involving a glacier triggered a rapidly moving debris flow that traveled roughly 62 miles downstream before striking a populated area.
Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided an updated toll on Sunday, reporting that 903 bodies have been recovered and about 4,200 people remain unaccounted for. More than 10,000 people have been rescued from the affected regions, including over 323 foreign nationals. According to available data, about 590 foreign nationals from 39 countries are still missing.
Twenty-two of the missing Americans were part of a pilgrimage affiliated with a Tennessee-based nonprofit group, according to Isha Foundation coordination leader Jyoti Jankowski. They were inside an immigration building when the flooding struck the area, Jankowski said.
Footage from the disaster showed a massive surge of water and debris suddenly rushing through the valleys, engulfing buildings in its path. The U.S. Geological Survey said investigators remain uncertain whether the initial failure was a landslide incorporating part of a glacier or a glacial collapse, in which a portion of a glacier breaks off and rapidly moves downslope with surrounding debris.
The glacier-related event resulted in a magnitude 5.2 earthquake, according to the USGS. A second seismic event was recorded approximately three hours later, generating energy equivalent to a magnitude 4.2 earthquake. The agency explained that the glacial debris contained water and ice that rapidly melted, picking up more material and water as it flowed downslope in existing stream and river channels, creating a fast-moving, far-traveled landslide and flood laden with boulders and other rubble.
Authorities said Nepal is coordinating with neighboring countries and the international community to provide relief, with supplies already arriving from countries including India and China. More supplies are expected from the U.S., United Arab Emirates, Myanmar, Qatar, the U.K., Australia, the Republic of Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Pakistan and other international organizations, officials said.
«Relief and humanitarian assistance are being provided in the affected areas. We are deeply grateful to our friends and partners for their solidarity, goodwill and generous offers of support at this difficult time,» the spokesperson said.
The State Department said last Wednesday that it was monitoring the situation and deploying a disaster response advisor to the region to support response efforts. The department also announced it would provide $500,000 in assistance through its global award with Catholic Relief Services, supporting emergency shelter, relief items, and water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance to flood-affected communities.
