Hundreds feared stuck in hydropower tunnels as flood deaths surpass 950 in Nepal, China
Catastrophic flooding in Nepal and China has resulted in over 950 deaths, with hundreds of workers feared trapped in mud-filled hydropower tunnels. International rescue experts are assisting local efforts, though the window for finding survivors is rapidly closing.
Why it matters
The disaster highlights the vulnerability of infrastructure in mountainous regions to extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change.
August 30 | Duration 2:50 Thousands of people are still missing after devastating flooding in Nepal and searchers are turning to tunnels at some hydropower sites, where hundreds are feared trapped. The number of confirmed dead has risen to about 800. Social Sharing Rescuers raced Monday to free hundreds of workers believed to be trapped in tunnels at hydropower sites that were buried in mud by catastrophic flooding on the Nepal-China border, as the death toll climbed and increasingly desperate families searched for missing loved ones.
The combined deaths in Nepal and China surpassed 950, with more than 4,400 people missing. A private-sector association representing power companies said at least 900 workers were unaccounted for at 12 hydropower projects damaged by the flash floods in Nepal's Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts.
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