AS IT HAPPENED: Australian crisis teams en-route to Nepal, lake breaks it banks amid fears of another catastrophe

This is where we leave our ongoing coverage of the disaster around the Nepal-Tibet border region.

Dozens of Australian families are still waiting for news of the 39 missing Aussies, as DFAT crisis teams make their way to Nepal.

On the ground rescuers continue to look for survivors 48 hours after the first wall of water devastated the region.

Making recovery efforts more complex is the “high risk” of a second flood event, with a dam on the Tibet side that’s burst as well as a newly formed lake along the Himalayan border between Nepal and China overflowing.

For more on that, you can see our latest coverage here.

The International Red Cross said it estimates at least 93,000 people “have been affected and are in great need”.

David Fisher, head of delegation in Nepal for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told reporters in Geneva that some areas are still accessible only by helicopter, and it hasn’t yet been possible to complete initial assessments.

UNICEF said at least 17,000 children are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance while 18 schools have been completely destroyed and another 20 damaged.

The World Health Organisation said six health facilities have been damaged and eight health workers are missing.

SmartTraveller issued updated warnings for the region around the Nepal-China border, near the Rasuwagadhi-Gyirong crossing point.

“There remains a high risk of further flooding, landslides and debris flows in affected areas,” they said on Friday night.

“Continued heavy rainfall may worsen conditions, causing rivers and lakes to overflow. Conditions can change rapidly with little warning.”

The update comes amid fears a newly formed, overflowing lake along the Himalayan border between Nepal and China, could trigger further flooding in the already devastated region.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority says the death toll in flash floods has risen to 538.

Nepali police later put the number of deaths higher at 547.

The authority said in an update on Friday that the number of missing people remained at 977 while 3742 people have been rescued.

The authority said 14,829 security personnel have been mobilised for search and rescue operations.

As the hunt for 39 missing Australians in Nepal continues, A Current Affair spoke with some family and friends who are awaiting any news from the disaster zone.

This includes the loved ones of Narayan Panthi, who shared a video from a quiet village on the Nepal-Tibet border just two hours before the water came in.

Watch the full video here.

Nepal Prime Minister Balen Shah and members of his cabinet will donate one month’s salary and remuneration to the Natural Disaster Relief Fund for flood victims, the government said Friday.

The decision was made during a cabinet meeting a day after Shah’s inspection of areas in Nuwakot hit by the flood.

Government spokesperson Sasmit Pokharel said the Finance Ministry also has been directed to prepare a relief and rehabilitation package for those affected.

The government is in contact with China through the Foreign Ministry over potential risks in the region, Pokharel said.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) announced on social media that reinforcements are en-route to Nepal, to help in the search for 39 missing Australians and the wider recovery response.

“More DFAT Crisis Response Team officers are on their way to Nepal following the devastating flash flooding,” they wrote on social media website X.

“They will help support Australians and the large-scale humanitarian response.”

All security personnel, rescue workers and members of the public deployed in rescue and relief efforts were told to remain on high alert and immediately move to a safe location if necessary.

No further details were provided.

“It hasn’t stopped,” Nepal police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle told The Associated Press, noting that the rescue operation is continuing but with a high alert.

The parents of Cara Serevino, the young Australian woman who was feared missing in the disaster zone until she made contact with her family this morning, have released a statement.

Here’s what they had to say:

“Our daughter Cara Severino has made contact with us this morning.

“She was hiking the Langtang trek and was stranded at Kyangjia Gompa.

“With communications down we had no contact.

“This morning she was able to call us from Gosainkunda where she has been able to reach along with some other Nepalese hikers.

“We understand that they are attempting to reach Kathmandu on foot.

“We eagerly await more information about her safe return.

“We praise God that she has been able to make this brief contact with us. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the families awaiting news.”

At a meeting of senior Communist Party leaders chaired by President Xi Jinping today, the Chinese leader urged officials to focus on the newly formed barrier lake as part of rescue efforts.

“[We] must pay close attention to the stability of the landslide-dammed lake and surrounding mountains, and take effective measures to strictly prevent secondary disasters,” said an official readout of the meeting – which happened before the latest news of the lake bursting its banks – released by state news agency Xinhua.

A barrier lake formed by Wednesday’s deluge has begun overflowing, threatening another landslide or flood, and complicating efforts to rescue survivors.

“This disaster occurred in a high-altitude and cold region with steep valleys and changeable weather, along with many glaciers, ice lakes, and potential geological hazards in the surrounding area, making rescue and relief efforts extremely difficult,” the readout added.

At the meeting, Xi also called everyone to stand up and observe a moment of silence for victims who lost their lives to the catastrophic floods, Xinhua reported.

Separately, Xi on Friday extended his condolences to Nepalese President Ram Chandra Paudel over the loss of his country’s flood victims, according to Xinhua.