The death toll from catastrophic flash floods and mudslides in Nepal rose to at least 626 on Saturday, as more than 2,400 people remained missing in the country, including around 90 Americans.

Rescuers have struggled to reach devastated communities along the Nepal-Tibet border, with the scale of the disaster coming into view four days after the torrent of water, ice and debris swept through Himalayan valleys, destroying homes, bridges and other infrastructure.

As families wait for news about their relatives, damaged roads, power outages and fears of further flooding have hampered rescue efforts.

China has separately reported seven deaths and 554 people missing in its Tibet region, including hundreds of foreigners. It is unclear how much overlap there is between the Chinese and Nepali missing-person counts.

House nearly engulfed by Nepal floodwaters

The disaster began Wednesday when a massive chunk of ice and rock dozens of times larger than the Empire State Building broke off a mountaintop and triggered the catastrophic flooding, geologists said.

Videos from the hardest-hit border regions showed people running as the debris flow swallowed buildings and vehicles, devastated towns and settlements, and severed roads, power and communications. The suspected collapse of a melting glacier shook the ground so violently that seismic monitors initially registered it as a magnitude-4.4 earthquake.

The State Department said it is not aware of any confirmed American deaths, but the large number of U.S. citizens still unaccounted for has added to the growing uncertainty surrounding the disaster.

Among the missing are Murphy, Texas residents Raghu Rajan and Archana Suresh. The pair were expected to cross the China-Nepal border Wednesday morning when the floods hit. Their phones last pinged that morning near a bridge that washed away.

“We know the severity of it, but still, you know, there’s a ray of hope for us to find our loved ones,” Rajan’s sister-in-law Divya Chandrashekar told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.

Deepak and Madhu Ahuja, Plano, Texas business owners who have been married for 34 years, were in the area for a religious journey to Mount Kailash, a sacred site for both Hindus and Buddhists. Their family is now desperately trying to find them while holding out hope that they survived.

“My first reaction was, ‘That cannot be true,’” Deepak’s brother Sushil Ahuja said. “They went there for a good cause, right? This cannot happen to them.”

The State Department has urged U.S. citizens “currently in, or recently traveling through Rasuwa or another affected area” to get in touch via KathmanduACS@state.gov.

A spokesperson said relatives seeking information about family members in Nepal “should call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free from the United States and Canada, or 1-202-501-4444 from other locations.”

On Saturday, helicopters resumed operations in Nepal’s flood-hit Nuwakot district after poor weather temporarily halted efforts.

Source: Read the original article on www.nbcnews.com

Additional coverage from www.business-standard.com:

Dhading: A swollen river flows through a flood-affected area in the aftermath of the flash floods, in Dhading, Nepal. (Photo: PTI)

The death toll from the devastating flash floods in Nepal surged to 626 on Saturday, as rescue teams continued search and relief operations in a race against time.

While nearly 2,500 people have been evacuated, more than 2,400 still remain missing.

An ice-rock avalanche following a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border sent a torrent of water, mud and debris downstream through central Nepal on Wednesday, devastating towns and villages, washing away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges, and damaging hydropower projects.

Rescuers continued search operations amid fears of another wave of flooding following an increase in water levels in the Bhotekoshi River.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority's (NDRRMA) latest update, 626 people have been reported dead in Nepal.

The disaster also left seven people dead on the Chinese side, according to Tibet's emergency management department.

More than 11,000 security personnel, including over 5,000 Nepal Army personnel, have been mobilised for search and rescue operations.

An 11-member Indian team comprising medical personnel and tunnel rescue experts also arrived in Nepal to assist local authorities.

According to the Nepal Army's Public Relations Directorate, 2,465 people have been evacuated so far, including 163 foreigners.

The foreigners include 113 Indians, 26 Chinese, 15 South Koreans, four Germans, two each from Italy and the US, and one Omani national.

As many as 191 workers were evacuated from tunnels of various hydropower projects in Trishuli and Rasuwa, it said.

While 2,265 of those evacuated were rescued by helicopters, 200 were evacuated through land routes.

Emergency health centres set up at Dhunche and Trishuli have so far provided medical assistance to 1,706 people evacuated from different flood-hit areas, it said.

Meanwhile, the Mugling-Kathmandu highway, a major road link connecting the capital with other parts of the country, resumed operations on Saturday, Nepal Police said in a notice. It had remained closed since Wednesday due to the risk of flooding and landslides.