The number of fatalities from last week’s severe flooding in Nepal has increased to 903. Officials reported on Monday that those missing have nearly doubled, reaching 4,247 individuals. Among the missing are 592 foreign nationals, as stated by Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority early Monday.
A spokesperson for the State Department, Tommy Pigott, informed Fox News on Sunday that approximately 85 Americans remain missing. Rescuers are facing difficulties accessing affected communities days after a glacier collapse led to massive flooding on the Nepal-Tibet border region last Wednesday.
The disaster here is overwhelming,
Ferrin Cole, serving as operations director at the U.S.-based Crisis Response International, told NBC News on Sunday. “The flood that came down that mountain just wiped out cities. We’re going in as fast as we can to get people the help that they need.”
The flood has impacted over 90,000 individuals, according to the Nepal Red Cross. Morgues in Nepal are filled beyond capacity. A police officer in Chitwan district mentioned to Reuters that “more than half” of recovered bodies are “beyond recognition.”
China reported 16 fatalities and 546 missing individuals in its Tibet region, including hundreds of foreigners. The overlap between Chinese and Nepali missing-person counts remains unclear.
Officials have rescued more than 10,400 people, including 277 foreign nationals. A landslide-dammed lake above the border checkpoint is overflowing, complicating rescue efforts. However, China’s state-run media CCTV noted that the risk of a complete breach is “relatively low.”
Meanwhile, heavy rain in Nepal is raising river levels, prompting new warnings for residents living near rivers.