The death toll from catastrophic flash flooding and landslides in areas along the Nepal-Tibet border has risen to 1,375. Ten days after the disaster, 5,531 people remain missing, according to official figures released Saturday.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said 1,344 people have died in the country. About 5,000 people remain missing, including 589 foreign nationals.
Meanwhile, Chinese authorities said at least 31 people have died in the country’s southwestern Xizang Autonomous Region (Tibet), where 531 people remain missing.
According to official figures from the Nepalese and Chinese governments, 850 of the missing across both countries are foreign nationals.
The disaster began on Aug. 26 when a glacier collapsed at an altitude of about 5,200 meters (17,060 feet) on Nepal’s Langtang Lirung mountain. The collapse sent a massive stream of ice and rock rushing downhill, creating an enormous flow of debris that then swept through border valleys, flooding a vast area.
The severe flooding and landslides have caused extensive damage in Nepal’s Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Kavre districts. The Kathmandu Valley has also suffered damage.
Meanwhile, the flood and landslide debris also buried the Gyirong border crossing in China’s Xizang region. Search and rescue operations for the missing have continued since the disaster struck.