Rising Death Toll and Missing Persons in Nepal Floods

The death toll from last week’s catastrophic flooding in Nepal has climbed to 903, according to officials on Monday. The number of people reported missing has nearly doubled, now totaling 4,247. Among these missing individuals are 592 foreign nationals, as per the update from Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott informed Fox News on Sunday that about 85 Americans remain unaccounted for. Rescue teams are facing significant challenges in reaching communities devastated by the floods, caused by a glacier collapse at the Nepal-Tibet border last Wednesday.

“The disaster here is overwhelming,” said Ferrin Cole, operations director at Crisis Response International, speaking to NBC News. “The flood that came down that mountain just wiped out cities. We’re going in as fast as we can to get people the help that they need.”

According to the Nepal Red Cross, the flooding has impacted over 90,000 people. Morgues in the country are overwhelmed, with a police officer in Chitwan district stating that more than half of the bodies recovered there are “beyond recognition.”

China reported 16 deaths and 546 people missing in its Tibet region, including hundreds of foreigners. The overlap between Chinese and Nepali missing counts is still unclear. Nepali officials confirmed that over 10,400 individuals have been rescued so far, including 277 foreign nationals.

A landslide-dammed lake above a border checkpoint has begun overflowing, complicating rescue efforts. China’s state media, CCTV, reported Saturday that while the lake poses challenges, a complete breach remains unlikely.

In the meantime, heavy rains in Nepal are elevating river levels, prompting new warnings for those residing near waterways.