Nepal flash flood death toll rises to 469 — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): The death toll from flash floods that struck Nepal has risen to 469, Nepalese police said on Friday. According to Reuters, police said the floods hit the country earlier this week, leaving hundreds dead and nearly 1,000 people missing in Nepal and Tibet. Rescue teams are using heavy machinery and sniffer dogs to search for victims and missing people amid mud and debris. The floods struck mountainous areas of the Himalayas on Wednesday. Experts believe the collapse of a glacier may have triggered a massive flow of water, rocks, ice, mud and debris into river channels. The floods swept through villages and valleys and damaged power plants, roads and bridges along the Kathmandu-Lhasa route in Tibet. Reuters earlier reported that at least 540 of those missing were foreign nationals. Nepalese authorities are continuing search-and-rescue operations using helicopters and delivering emergency aid to thousands of people stranded in the affected areas. Meanwhile, Nepal’s Disaster Management Authority has warned that debris blocking the Bhote Koshi River has formed a lake whose water level is rising, raising fears that it could burst its banks. China has also warned that about three million cubic metres of water could enter another blocked lake over the next three days, increasing the risk of further flooding. Chinese state media reported that 558 people, including 260…