Nepal-Tibet floods live updates: Death toll rises to 469, 39 Aussies still missing amid frantic rescue mission

It was already too late when the call came.

Rajan Khatri, 41, a police officer, was working at his station in a mountain village in northern Nepal when a friend rang Wednesday morning to warn that a flash flood was thundering downriver in his direction. As soon as he hung up, giant waves slammed into the station.

“I cannot explain how big the waves were,” Khatri said from a hospital bed in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, on Thursday.

“They engulfed several meters-high buildings in a fraction of seconds. It wasn’t just water. It was a combination of boulders, sand and thick sludge.”

The onslaught flung Khatri out of the building, and he lost consciousness and suffered chest injuries. Two of his colleagues survived, but four were missing on Thursday.

They were among the more than 1400 people missing in the devastating deluge of rock, ice, trees, mud and water that blasted through river valleys on the border between Nepal and Tibet, washing away bridges, smashing homes, schools and hydropower plants, and swallowing people who tried to run away.

Read more from The New York Times.

The death toll from the devastating Nepal flood disaster has risen to 469, Nepali police say.

Thousands of people are still missing as a wide-spread rescue mission continues to search for survivors.

Survivors of the devastating Nepal floods are arriving at hospital with multiple fractures, blunt force trauma and injuries caused by being asphyxiated by mud, as drones scour the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers for those still missing.

Entire villages remain buried beneath mud and debris after a falling glacier triggered flash flooding along the Nepal-China border, with at least 39 Australians among more than 1400 people reported missing.

Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital deputy director Dr Gopali Sedain said some patients had been transported from the disaster zone by ambulance and helicopter.

“There were multiple fractures and they are relatively well preserved than the patients we received yesterday,” he said. “Not only the blunt trauma but we have seen many people that have been asphyxiated by even mud, which came together with the water and they have mud all over the body, their nostrils, their face, mouth, and probably that has also caused more damage to them,” he said.

At least 17,000 children have been impacted by the devastating flash floods in Nepal, with UNICEF launching a US$17.2 million emergency appeal as the scale of the disaster continues to grow.

An estimated 332 people have died, including at least 14 children, while hundreds remain missing following the floods that tore through Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts on August 26. Homes, schools, health facilities, roads and bridges have been destroyed or badly damaged, leaving some communities cut off from vital assistance.

UNICEF says children who survived now face growing risks from disease, malnutrition, violence and exploitation, with around 10,000 school-aged children also requiring urgent education support.

The agency is deploying medical supplies, emergency hygiene kits, therapeutic food and mental health support while working to identify and reunite children separated from their families.

UNICEF Representative to Nepal Alice Akunga warned the tragedy was “far from over” as search operations continue and the death toll is expected to rise.

More images are emerging from Nepal’s Nuwakot district as rescue crews continue the search for survivors and families desperately await news of loved ones still missing.

New satellite imagery has revealed the devastating aftermath of the floods, showing the scale of destruction left across affected areas as rescue crews continue searching for survivors and authorities assess the damage.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed Australia is sending crisis and humanitarian response specialists to assist in the aftermath of the devastating floods across Nepal and China.

“We’re also providing humanitarian assistance including food, emergency shelter and medical support,” Mr Albanese said in a post on X.

“Our thoughts are with the loved ones of those affected as we urgently work to confirm the welfare of missing Australians.”

US President Donald Trump has offered American assistance to Nepal following the devastating disaster, telling reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday the destruction was terrible to see. He described how “strong, well-built buildings were wiped out like they were toothpicks”.

Mr Trump said the US had spoken with Nepali leaders and offered to provide “anything they want”, adding there were about 50 or 60 Americans in the affected area but a full accounting had not yet been completed.

The US Department of State has separately said 90 Americans remain unaccounted for across China and Nepal, with no US deaths reported so far.

The scale of Nepal’s disaster continues to emerge, with 677 people now reported missing, according to the latest update from the Nepal Tourism Board.

The missing people include 127 Nepalese nationals, while foregin nationals from more than 30 countries remain unaccounted for.

Nepal: 127

India: 178

United States: 65

Ukraine: 53

Malaysia: 51

Australia: 39

United Kingdom: 33

Canada: 25

China: 24

New Zealand: 5

Total reported missing: 677

The nationalities of another eight people rescued have not yet been confirmed.

Australia has deployed additional personnel to Nepal as authorities desperately try to establish the whereabouts of the missing Australians.

Senator Wong said about 20 Australian personnel were now on the ground, with additional teams being deployed to assist with consular services and the humanitarian response.

“Well, we’ve got to do three things. The first is to do everything we can to find the Australians. The second is to get more Australian officers into the region. So we’ve deployed additional officers. We’ve got about 20 people on the ground in Nepal, deploying additional teams to both help with consular services,” she said.

“That is helping Australians on the ground, but also to help with the humanitarian response.”

Australia has also announced a $5 million assistance package for the disaster.

Of that, $2 million will go to the World Food Programme, another $2 million will be delivered through Australian organisations assisting on the ground and $1 million will go towards the Emergency Action Alliance.

“And the third thing is to provide assistance. We’ve announced, $5 million, 2 million will go to the World Food Programme, 2 million will be delivered by Australian organisations who can assist on the ground. And we have $1 million towards what’s called Emergency Action Alliance,” Senator Wong said.