Horrific new video circulating Friday captures the raw, unstoppable power of the flash flood that tore through the Nepal-Tibet border this week — a wall of muddy water and debris so violent it looks like a river of liquid concrete swallowing homes, roads, and anything in its way.
In the clip shared by weather accounts and viewed millions of times, people can be seen clinging to rooftops and balconies as the torrent slams into buildings below. Structures buckle and vanish. Vehicles are tossed like toys. The water is thick with rock, ice, and sludge, leaving almost no time to run.
The disaster struck Wednesday morning after a massive section of glacier high in the Himalayas sheared off and plunged more than 3,900 feet onto the valley floor. The collapse — not an earthquake, as first reported — generated seismic waves equivalent to a magnitude 5.2 event and sent an avalanche of ice and rock slamming into the Lhende River. Debris briefly dammed the water before the natural barrier burst, unleashing a surge that raced downstream through valleys popular with trekkers and pilgrims heading to Mount Kailash.
Authorities in Nepal now confirm at least 469 deaths, with the toll expected to climb. Hundreds more remain missing on both sides of the border, including more than 500 foreigners. Indians make up the largest group of unaccounted-for pilgrims, followed by Americans, Australians, Britons, Canadians, and others. Many were traveling the remote route linking Kathmandu to Lhasa.
Rescue operations have been painfully slow. Helicopters are the only way into many cut-off valleys after roads and bridges were obliterated. Teams are using heavy machinery to dig through mud several feet deep while officials warn that newly formed debris lakes could burst and trigger a second wave.
Survivors describe a sudden roar and a rising wall of brown water that gave them minutes at most. One man told reporters he watched his wife swept away as he scrambled to a terrace. Another clung to a tree while the house he was working in disappeared. Entire villages look like they were scraped clean.
The U.S. State Department has confirmed dozens of Americans are among those unaccounted for, with a small number rescued so far and no confirmed U.S. fatalities announced. Families across India and other countries are flooding hotlines and social media searching for loved ones last seen at border immigration posts when the flood hit.
Scientists say the Himalayas are warming faster than the global average, making glaciers and the slopes beneath them more unstable. Whether that played a direct role in this particular collapse is still being studied. What is not in dispute is the result: one of the deadliest disasters the region has seen in years, captured in video that is as gripping as it is grim.
Rescuers continue working around the clock. For many families, hope is fading with every hour the remote valleys stay isolated.
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