Listen to this articleDear 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated using AI-based technology. Pronunciation errors may occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve results. Authorities in Nepal warned of possible fresh flooding on Sunday and urged residents in flood-affected districts to remain on high alert after rising water levels in the Bhotekoshi River. Flood warning notices were sent to people’s phones early Sunday as rescue teams worked to clear a major highway connecting Kathmandu to one of the areas hardest hit by Wednesday’s catastrophic floods, which killed at least 800 people and left more than 3,000 missing in Nepal and Tibet. In Dhading, one of the worst-affected regions in Nepal, some residents began returning to their ruined homes to see what could be saved. Residents sat in houses with walls washed away by floodwaters, shoveling mud and debris from balconies. Others scanned the ground for objects they could dig out of the mud and rinse. A man had returned for his chickens and found them alive. He tied them up and put them in the cab of his truck. “Everything is finished. There is nothing left. Not even our house,” Sharmila Tamang, a Dhading resident who was trying to rescue items from her home, told The Associated Press. At a key power plant that was severely damaged by flooding, workers began inspecting the facility on Sunday to observe the destruction. The plant serves more than 20,000 people in four districts. In the town of Galchhi, a group of residents sought higher ground on a nearby bridge and watched the river roar past. Some pointed out huge boulders washed downstream during previous floods, while others standing on a suspension bridge were warned by whistles. Along the river, houses, vehicles and farm tractors could be seen protruding from the thick gray-brown sediment that in some areas engulfed entire towns. Parts of rice terraces along the river bank had fallen into the river after landslides hit them.WATCH | Death toll from flash floods in Nepal and Tibet continues to rise: Death toll from flash floods in Nepal and Tibet rises as fears of a second flood grow CBC News is in Nepal, where fears are growing that a swollen artificial lake formed by this week’s massive flash flood along the Tibet border could cause another flood disaster. At least 579 people have been confirmed dead so far, while almost 2,000 remain missing. Nepal’s disaster agency said on Sunday that the death toll had risen to 788 with 2,502 missing, while Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 missing on the Chinese side of the border. The missing include hundreds of people from more than a dozen countries who were in the region to work, visit the mountains or make a pilgrimage to a sacred peak. On Sunday, Chinese state media said 261 foreigners were missing in Tibet, including more than 100 Nepalis and others from around the world. Residents receive constant flood warnings. Homes and businesses left untouched by the floods remained without power Sunday, while twisted power line poles and cables lay tangled in the mud. The Prithivi Expressway is a crucial supply route for food, fuel and other goods entering Kathmandu from other parts of the country. While most of the road is operational, other parts still face repair challenges. The latest warnings came after Chinese authorities informed their Nepalese counterparts of increased water flow upstream, according to Dharam Raj Uprety, executive director of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. Residents watch the swollen Trishuli river from higher ground on Sunday. (Niranjan Shrestha/The Associated Press) But residents of flood-affected villages said they were struggling to understand the near-constant alarms they have received since the initial flooding. “Sometimes they say a flood is coming, then we have to run again to higher ground, even at night. It also rains,” said Govind Shreshta, a resident. “It’s really difficult for me. I have a 72-year-old father and a 70-year-old mother. I have to carry them and I’m exhausted. The same thing happens to those who are still alive.” Large concrete suspension bridges and smaller ones were destroyed, leaving communities across the river with more difficult access. “Those who are there now are stuck there. Those who are here are stuck here. It’s going to be very difficult,” said Sattan Singh Tamang, 47. who was working near a bridge when Wednesday’s flooding occurred. Nepalis have become victims of climate change: Wednesday’s flash floods began after the collapse of a glacier high in the Himalayan region. Scientists studying satellite images said the bedrock beneath a glacier high in the Himalayan region had collapsed, taking part of the glacier with it. The rockfall was so extreme that it registered a magnitude of 5.2. A woman helps a boy place a photograph of his missing relative on a wall along with photographs of missing and deceased people displayed outside a government hospital in Kathmandu on Sunday. (Dar Yasin/The Associated Press) Rocks and meltwater caused rivers to swell in lower valleys, causing a torrent of water that swept away buildings, bridges and land downstream in Tibet and Nepal. Nepal’s Foreign Minister called for a global response to climate change, saying Nepal was bearing a disproportionate share of its impact. “Despite having only a 0.1 percent contribution to global emissions, the people of Nepal have become the main victims of climate change,” Shisir Khanal said on Saturday. Scientists have said it is too early to draw a direct connection between global warming and Wednesday’s catastrophe. However, they said that as the Earth’s temperature rises due to human activities such as burning oil, gas and coal, the chances of such disasters increasing, especially in the Himalayan mountains, which are warming considerably faster than many other parts of the world.
