Nine Americans have been safely evacuated from Nepal following catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border, but 85 remain unaccounted for, the US State Department has said. The floods, which struck on Wednesday, have killed at least 750 people and left more than 3,000 missing, with officials warning the death toll is likely to rise as search efforts continue in remote, hard-to-reach terrain.

The disaster began when a section of glacier collapsed near the Nepal-China border, initially mistaken for a magnitude 5.2 earthquake, sending a torrent of freezing water, debris and rock down the Lende Khola River and destroying entire communities. The US has activated $3.6 million in emergency humanitarian aid, including up to three months of food for 10,000 affected households, while embassies in Kathmandu and Beijing coordinate round-the-clock with local officials. Authorities also warned of fresh flood risk after water levels rose in the Bhotekoshi River, with a newly formed glacial lake still holding an estimated 1.4 million cubic metres of water.