The death toll in Nepal’s flash floods and landslides has risen to 475. Thousands of people are still missing in the incident.

Nepali media outlet Kathmandu Post reported this information in a report on Friday.

According to the report, the death toll in Wednesday’s deadly Bhotekoshi river floods has risen to 475, police said. Rescue teams are searching the entire riverbed and downstream for survivors and bodies. However, thousands of people are still missing.

It is worth noting that the floods hit Rasua and surrounding districts in northern Nepal on Wednesday morning. As a result, the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers overflowed with water and debris. This natural disaster swept away houses, bridges, roads and other infrastructure, and cut off local communities and tourists from the mainland in some areas.

The full extent of the damage from the disaster is still unclear as authorities continue to collate reports of casualties and missing persons from various districts.

A large number of tourists and trekkers are among the missing. The Nepal Tourism Board said on Thursday night that a total of 667 tourists and trekkers, including 127 Nepalis, are still missing in the flood-hit areas.

The country’s tourism board, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, the tourist police and other tourism sector agencies are working to collect and verify information about the missing tourists.

They are also coordinating with travel agencies, trekking companies, guides, local authorities and security agencies in search and rescue operations.

The Nepal Army, Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force have been deployed for search, rescue and evacuation operations. Helicopters are being used to reach isolated areas and evacuate survivors, while teams on the ground are searching riverbanks and low-lying areas.

The floods have severely damaged communication and other infrastructure in the region, making it difficult to reach affected communities.

The cause of the sudden and devastating floods is still under investigation. The floods struck the Himalayan foothills without warning and spread rapidly through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems, leaving people in vulnerable areas with little time to evacuate to safer places.

Source: Kathmandu Post