Nepal flood LIVE: Expert reveals 'tsunami from the sky' with 200m-high waves was sparked by glacier dumping 20-million cubic metres of water - as images show 'devastation beyond imagination'

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Updated: 03:26 EDT, 27 August 2026 Nepal is facing what officials have described as ‘devastation beyond imagination’ after a ‘tsunami from the sky’ swept through the Rasuwa region yesterday following a glacier collapse.The rushing waters, reportedly reaching up to 650ft high, have left nearly 1,500 people missing and at least 177 dead.Bishal Nath Upreti, a geologist and academic at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, described it 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.Nepal’s disaster agency said 823 people, including 517 tourists, remained out of contact. 33 UK nationals are among those missing.In Tibet, Chinese state media described the event as a ‘mudslide disaster’ which killed three people, while 558 people – including 260 foreigners – were missing.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.PICTURED: Devastation in Nepal after 'tsunami from the sky' destroys entire settlementsBreaking:Death toll rises to 177Nepal's police has released a new update stating that 177 bodies have now been recovered.The statement added that 33 people are receiving treatment and 3,318 police officers have been deployed so far to support rescue operations.Damage so extensive only helicopters can be used to reach the site of the disasterThe president of the Nepal Centre for Disaster Management said the damage to the infrastructure in the wake of the flash floods has been so extensive only helicopters can be used to reach the site of the disaster.Asked about how the centre is approaching the disaster given that a lot of the infrastructure was 'washed away,' Upreti told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: This is the most challenging thing right now. Today also, there will be a lot of search and rescue will be going on. So, only the helicopters can be used to reach there. Complete wash out from along the road, and it will take weeks and weeks to open these road.And now the biggest problem I see from today onwards is how do we bring the relief materials there? So it’s such a huge population and so scattered, so not a lot of people can go there for relief work distribution and all that. So they have to walk on the way, and even the walking along the road is so difficult now.Breaking:Nepal says 517 foreigners out of contact after deadly floods Nepal's Tourism Board has now said 517 foreigners remained out of contact on Thursday, more than 24 hours after a deadly flood tore through the border region with Tibet.Among the missing are 178 from India, 65 from the United States, 53 from Ukraine, 51 from Malaysia, 35 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 25 from Canada. In addition, there are nine from Singapore, eight from Germany and eight from Russia.Dalai Lama is 'praying for all those who have lost their lives'In a statement on Thursday morning, the Dalai Lama has said he is 'saddened to learn of the devastating floods,' adding: I pray for all those who have lost their lives, and offer my sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the bereaved and to all those affected by this tragedySince this region has seen calamities in the past as well, these are certainly symptoms of a deeper underlying cause — whether climate change or other factors.I hope that appropriate follow-up measures will be taken, wherever possible, to help ensure that such disasters do not recur.WATCH: Desperate hunt for survivors after apocalyptic floods hit NepalDesperate families crowd Kathmandu hospital as they search for missing loved onesAnxious relatives crowded the corridors of a Kathmandu hospital Thursday as they searched for missing family.As rescue teams scoured for survivors in the flood-ravaged districts, families moved between hospitals and police helpdesks, desperately hoping for word on those missing.Among them was Subash Khatani, scanning lists and speaking to officials in the hope of finding news of his elder brother, one of the hundreds unaccounted for after the disaster.'My elder brother Ram Sharan Rasaili is among those missing in Rasuwa. That's why we are out searching for him,' Khatani said.Chitra Bahadur Nepali was looking for his nephew Yubraj Sewak, a driver who had been travelling towards the worst-affected Rasuwa district before contact was lost.'My nephew was on his way to Rasuwa and was in contact with my sister until about 8:00 am yesterday,' Nepali, 52, said, showing his photograph on his phone.'We have not heard from him since the flood. His name is not on any of the lists we have seen, and another member of our family is also missing.'The Bir hospital said it would treat all victims for free and was 'fully prepared' to handle the surge in patients, local media reported.