B1 Intermediate · 301 words · 2 min read

Dozens of Americans and Canadians Missing in Nepal-Tibet Flood

More than 350 people have died after a flash flood and mudslide near the Nepal-Tibet border, and hundreds remain unaccounted for.

Dozens of Americans and Canadians are among hundreds of people missing after a deadly flash flood and mudslide near the Nepal-Tibet border, Nepali authorities say. More than 350 people are so far known to have died.

The Nepal Tourism Board has broken down the missing by nationality. Its latest announcement on Thursday morning said there are 65 people from the US and 25 from Canada. State media in China, which controls Tibet, reported three dead and at least 558 missing there, including 260 foreign nationals, CCTV said. It is not clear whether these figures overlap with Nepal's.

The US State Department said it was aware that Americans were impacted by Wednesday's floods, but did not provide numbers for privacy reasons. The US embassy in Nepal is working closely with local tour agencies and authorities to assist affected Americans. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government was closely following the situation, and Canada's foreign office said 820 Canadians are registered as being in Nepal and five in the Tibet Autonomous Region. It stressed that the numbers are only estimates, because registration is voluntary.

Scientists say a collapsed glacier was the likely cause, although the US Geological Survey has now said further analysis indicates "that the seismic energy was instead generated by a landslide" by itself. Climate change is known to be driving faster glacier melt in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, but scientists say it is too soon to pinpoint its role in this event.

The flooding swept away entire communities, and roads and bridges worth more than 15bn Nepalese rupees (£72.18m, $98.33m) were damaged, a government official told BBC Nepali. Nepal's President Ram Chandra Paudel called on the government, political parties, security forces and the public to intensify rescue and relief efforts. "I urge everyone to remain vigilant," he said.

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