Xi chairs high-level review of Nepal-Tibet flood rescue
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday chaired the ruling Communist Party meeting to take stock of the grim situation arising out of the massive flash floods engulfing the Tibet-Nepal border, in which hundreds were killed and many remain missing.
The meeting was to deliberate and make arrangements on rescue and relief efforts after the flash floods hit Gyirong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region on Wednesday.
At the beginning of the meeting, Xi and other leaders observed a moment of silence to mourn the victims of the disaster, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Officials at the meeting said that emergency rescue operations have been carried out swiftly and in a well-coordinated manner, with comprehensive efforts underway to resettle affected people.
At the meeting, it was decided that search and rescue plans should be formulated scientifically, and all efforts should be made to search for and rescue all missing Chinese and foreign nationals, according to the report. The death toll of the flash floods in Nepal has reached 469, while three people were killed in Tibet. Over 550 people were reported missing in Tibet and 100 Chinese were yet to be traced in Nepal. According to Chinese officials, around 1,000 people, including 555 tourists, were evacuated to safety. Officials are yet to provide details about the nationalities of the tourists.
A number of Indian pilgrims on Kailash Mansarovar Yatra were reportedly stranded following the floods.
Meanwhile, China has sounded a Level-IV alert following the flash floods, warning that a newly formed barrier lake at the confluence of two rivers faces a high risk of breaching and flooding downstream areas.
China's Ministry of Water Resources on Thursday night sounded an emergency in Tibet, cautioning of a threat posed by the barrier lake, which formed near the confluence of Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers.
These rivers originate in Tibet and flow into Nepal as part of the Bhotekoshi river system. China's emergency response system for natural disasters has four levels, with Level-I being the highest and Level IV the lowest.
