Authorities in Nepal urged residents to remain on high alert Sunday as the rising Bhotekoshi River threatened flood-devastated communities where 750 people are dead and 3,000 remain missing.
The warnings followed alerts from Chinese officials of increased upstream water flow, according to Dharam Raj Uprety, chief executive of Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
The combined death toll in Nepal and Tibet has reached 750, with more than 3,000 people missing. Nepal’s disaster agency reported 734 deaths and 2,498 missing, while Chinese authorities confirmed 16 deaths and 546 missing.
In hard-hit areas like Galchhi, roaring waters have enveloped entire homes, vehicles and agricultural fields in sediment. Landslides and destroyed bridges have left numerous communities isolated and without power, while rescue crews struggle to clear the Prithivi Highway, Kathmandu's vital supply route.
Exhausted residents expressed growing panic over near-constant alarms forcing them to flee to higher ground.