Dozens of Americans are feared dead in the Himalayas after catastrophic floods tore through Nepal's border with China on Wednesday.
The total death toll has climbed to at least 332 people, officials said Thursday morning, with the true extent of the devastation still unfolding and many more victims unaccounted for.
At least 65 Americans are listed among those missing in the wake of the disaster, the head of Nepal's tourism board told CBS News. The identities of the missing have not been released.
Officials say at least 1,300 other people are also missing, including scores of victims from across the globe, including at least 24 Canadians, 33 UK nationals, and 35 Australians.
The flash flooding is believed to have been caused by a huge glacial collapse in the Himalayas on Wednesday, which sent a cascade of ice rock and more than 20 million cubic meters of water crashing through the Trishuli River.
Footage showed the floods decimating villages and wiping out critical infrastructure across the Langtang mountain range, a Himalayan border region between Nepal and southern Tibet.
The Rasuwa District in Nepal saw the worst of the destruction, where rushing waters reportedly reached up to 650ft high and left a trail of devastation.
On Thursday, the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources said it fears a secondary 'tsunami' could be triggered, as a landslide dam with a 'high risk of breaching' could cause an aftershock of rock, mud and debris to hit the region.
Devastating flash floods devastated the Nepali border region of Rasuwa on Wednesday, killing at least 332 people dead and leaving over 1300 more missing. At least 65 Americans are unaccounted for, officials say
Footage showed the floods decimating villages and wiping out critical infrastructure across the Langtang mountain range, a Himalayan border region between Nepal and southern Tibet
Nepali officials described the flooding as a 'tsunami from the sky', saying it has left 'devastation beyond imagination' across vast swathes of the Rusawu region.
Expansive rescue operations have been launched across the devastated area, and the Nepal Tourism Board said it has so far saved at least 27 foreign nationals, including two Americans.
The US nationals were described as a man and a woman in their 50s, according to Hikmat Singh Ayer, CEO and senior director of the tourism board.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media that the Trump administration was monitoring the tragedy and stands 'ready to support' Nepalese officials with 'needed humanitarian assistance.'
'We express our solidarity and are united in prayer for the Nepali people following the devastating floods,' Rubio said.
The US Embassy in Nepal warned that communications across the area are significantly disrupted, but officials are 'working to account for US citizens' who may have been caught up in the flooding.
'The US Department of State is closely monitoring the situation and deploying a Disaster Response Advisor to the region to assist with response efforts,' the embassy said on social media.
'The Department will also provide $500,000 (approximately 76 million Nepali rupees) in assistance through a global grant to Catholic Relief Services, which will help flood-affected communities with emergency shelter and relief supplies, as well as water, sanitation, and hygiene support.'
The flash flooding is believed to have been caused by a huge glacial collapse in the Himalayas on Wednesday, which sent a cascade of ice rock and more than 20 million cubic meters of water crashing through the Trishuli River
Homes lying in deluged flood waters and debris in Devighat, Bidur Municipality, in Nepal's Nuwakot district on Thursday
In an update on Thursday, the embassy said the 'main flood surge has moved downstream' from the devastated Rasuwagadhi, Timure, and Syafrubesi areas, but it had not reached the Kathmandu Valley near the nation's capital.
'Continuing rainfall may raise river levels and trigger local flooding, landslides, debris flows, and additional road damage,' the embassy warned. 'Stay away from riverbanks, low-lying areas, and damaged infrastructure.'
The embassy ordered citizens to postpone all non-essential travel from Kathmandu to the affected areas, and to stay away from all riverbanks, low-lying areas, damaged bridges, landslides, and flood debris.
The true extent of the destruction will only become clear in the coming days, as officials warn they expect the death toll to continue rising as Nepal faces extensive rescue and rebuilding operations.
Nepal is among the poorest countries in South Asia, and much of the nation's capital, Kathmandu, remains devastated over a decade after an 8.1 magnitude earthquake hit the city in 2015, which killed over 8,900 people.
In Wednesday's disaster, rushing waters reportedly reached up to 650ft high as they tore through the Rusawi region.
According to CCTV News, the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources has said today that a significant landslide dam, where rock, mud and debris have slid down and blocked the flow of water, has formed near where the Tsogyal River and the Purupqiangzangbu River meet in Nepal.
As of Thursday morning, the estimated water volume in the river had reached 2 million cubic meters, and the lake was overflowing.
Another three million cubic meters of water is projected to enter the lake over the next three days. This puts the dam at risk of collapsing, which could flood the area again.
Expansive rescue operations have been launched across the devastated area, and the Nepal Tourism Board said it has so far rescued at least 27 foreign nationals including two Americans
The true extent of the destruction will only become clear in the coming days, as officials warn they expect the death toll to continue rising as Nepal faces extensive rescue and rebuilding operations
Bishal Nath Upreti, a geologist and academic at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, described Wednesday's flood as 'one of the largest disasters in Nepal', saying the collapse unleashed a 300 to 650ft-high 'tsunami from the sky' and around 20million cubic metres of excess water.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development has released a detailed assessment of the disaster, with experts warning the disaster could trigger a second flooding event, with vast amounts of debris washed into the region's river systems potentially creating dangerous blockages.
Experts are assessing whether the Trishuli River has been temporarily blocked at narrow sections.
If so, the blockage could form a landslide dam and create the risk of another major flood.
