Rescue efforts continue as Nepal-China flood death toll surpasses 1,270

Rescue teams in Nepal are working around the clock to reach workers trapped inside hydropower facilities more than a week after flash floods devastated entire communities in the Himalayas.

Last week, a cascade of rocks, mud and water that scientists believe came from a glacier collapse near the Langtang Lirung mountain peak swept away villages, roads, and bridges in Nepal and Tibet.

More than 1,270 people have been killed, and more than 4,700 are still missing, authorities said on Thursday.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said 1,252 bodies have been recovered as the total number of missing in the country remained at 4,216. Hundreds of workers are believed to be trapped inside hydropower plants, including some in tunnels, near the country’s border with China.

In neighbouring Tibet, Chinese authorities have reported 21 deaths and 541 people missing.

“We still hope there are some survivors inside,” Sanjay Kc, an officer from the Nepalese army engineering department, said, in front of bulldozers trying to remove huge piles of mud blocking the entrance of a tunnel in the Rasuwa district, one of the worst affected areas in Nepal. “Because it’s a big power house inside, so it’s a big room, and we feel that the whole power house is not flooded,” he told Al Jazeera.

Families of those missing are gathering each morning hoping for news about their loved ones. For many, the wait is excruciating.

“Every day I come here hoping to find my father,” said Pratik Rana, the son of a missing engineer. “But every day at sunset I feel my hope fades away… [A] father is equally important for everyone, but for me he was a precious part of my life.”

In other affected areas, authorities are using all available tools, including zip lines and helicopters, to rescue people trapped in remote villages. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated floods and mudflows have left at least 2.2 million tonnes of debris.

In the capital Kathmandu, forensic teams are working to identify bodies.

Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington, reporting from a DNA testing facility in the city, said many of the bodies being found are in a state of decomposition.

“Forensic teams on the ground told us that there are some things that can help with the identification process, such as tattoos and jewellery, but many bodies were found in such a state that it’s very challenging to identify them.”

On Wednesday, the country’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah said authorities would continue searching for survivors while also starting rehabilitation and rebuilding efforts.

Dharma Raj Upreti, chief of the NDRRMA, told the Reuters news agency that about 20,000 houses would have to be rebuilt, including 7,500 that have been destroyed.

“There is no point in rebuilding the houses in the same locations, as that would expose people to the same risks,” Upreti told the news agency, adding that authorities were trying to identify safer areas to relocate the communities and build up new settlements. As of Monday, the UN said more than 3,400 displaced people were living in 27 displacement sites in Nuwakot and Rasuwa, mostly in schools.

Nepali authorities have pointed to the role of major greenhouse gas emitters that have a “historical responsibility to compensate vulnerable nations like Nepal”, said Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal. He added that the government has officially filed a “formal climate compensation claim letter” to international partners.