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I wanted to get the latest from Nepal, where hundreds of local residents plus international
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visitors are missing after a deadly flash flood on the border with Tibet
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The pictures from the region are absolutely awful and upsetting. They are in a way reminiscent of the images that we saw after the 2004 Asian tsunami
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just a wall of water raging through villages and towns after an earthquake appears to have triggered an avalanche
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384 people listed officially as missing, 95 dead. At least a dozen people from the UK are among the missing
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including a 12-year-old girl. And joining me now live from Kathmandu is Diwakar Rai
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a journalist in Nepal for padafas.com. Mr Rai, thank you very much indeed for coming on the program here on LBC this evening
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We're very grateful to you. Can you tell us what the latest situation is there now
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I presume there is a massive search and rescue operation taking place
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It has been hit by a major flood, particularly in Rasuwa district and several downstream districts in Nepal
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So according to the latest government data, at least 95 people have been pronounced dead as a result of the flooding
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And also, government is still trying hard to collect more information on human casualties and also physical damages
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So the preliminary assessment suggests that the flood may have originated upstream in Tibet That on the Chinese side of the border So Nepal disaster authorities also say that satellite ysis indicates that the flood began around 20 kilometers northeast
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northeastern of the Roswa-Golai border crossing. And also experts, they believe that this event might have been caused by a landslide or an avalanche that might have blocked the river and caused a sudden release of water
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But the precise cause is still being investigated. The situation until now remains very fluid
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and rescue teams are still working in difficult, mountainous terrain, and the authorities are assessing extensive damage
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that has been caused to roads, bridges, hydropower, and also electricity transmission infrastructures
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So at the same time, experts also are warning that there could be another flood
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if the obstruction remains there in the upstream. So Nepal is dealing with both humanitarian emergency
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and also the possibility of further flooding. I mean the images that I sure you seen Mr Rye are very upsetting You can see this sort of wall of water coursing through the streets of a town and pedestrians had literally seconds of warning some of them running in a fruitless bid to try and find higher ground because seconds later
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they were engulfed by water. There has to be, unfortunately, a very serious possibility that
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there's going to be a significant death toll arising from this. Yes, as I mentioned, the situation
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remains fluid. The government is, you know, working around the club to get more information
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on that. But the latest report that government has released says that 95 people have died
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Also, as you mentioned, 391 foreign nationals and 93 Nepali citizens are out of contact
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That including 12 British nationals. So for now, the people who are still, who were rescued
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they are being held in temporary shelters wherever the houses are still standing
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They are taking shelter there for now. And the area where this torrent of water hit, at this time of year, is it very popular with international visitors
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What's that area like? So Nepal has a long history of floods, such floods, landslides and glacial lake arbors or the bluffs
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So we saw last time we saw a major one in 2024 in the Everest region that caused significant damage to houses and infrastructures
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So this place, this region is Roswa. The place, the district Roswa is famous for trekkers, trekking and pilgrimage
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So this region is the gateway to places such as Langtang and Gosaikunde
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And it is also connected to the routes used by pilgrims traveling towards Kailas Mansur River
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So they're both local and international volunteers in this area. But again, I would want to make an important distinction
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Being out of contact does not necessarily mean that someone is confirmed, missing or dead
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So communications, right now, communication and transportation links have been badly disrupted
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So authorities are still trying to establish people's information and people's whereabouts
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Mr. Rai, I think that's an important distinction that you make, and I appreciate you for that and for joining us here on LBC this afternoon
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That's Diwakar Rai, a journalist in Nepal for padifas.com. He's based in Kathmandu and was reporting to us live from Kathmandu this evening
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and I know this is going to be a very anxious evening for many families in the UK
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that have not yet heard from their loved ones in the aftermath of that tragedy that took place in Nepal earlier today
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Hundreds of people missing after a deadly flash flood on the border with Tibet
