Catastrophe begins: Dam collapses; "Run, immediately!" VIDEO

According to reports, a dam upstream in Tibet has collapsed, two days after a glacier collapse triggered devastating floods.

“We have received information about a new dam breach on the Tibetan side. We urge all law enforcement agencies, rescuers and members of the public involved in rescue and relief operations to remain on alert and move to safety immediately,” Nepalese police said, according to Adnkronos.

Earlier today, China said it had suspended rescue operations after a lake formed by debris from the glacier collapse that caused catastrophic flooding along the China-Nepal border began to overflow.

The lake’s reservoir had exceeded 2.5 million cubic meters of water, up from an estimated 1.5–2 million cubic meters recorded on Thursday by an eight-member Chinese engineering team monitoring the site.

The Nepalese police said this morning that the death toll from the flash floods that struck the country has risen to 469, while around 1,500 people are reported missing.

A useful next step would be to check the latest figures separately for Nepal and Tibet, as the numbers are continuing to change.

Among those missing are hundreds of tourists from India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, as well as one Serbian citizen.

The flooding swept through villages and valleys, destroying power plants, roads and bridges along the route connecting Kathmandu with Lhasa in Tibet, a route popular with mountaineers, trekkers and pilgrims.

In its wake, the debris formed a barrier lake, threatening to cause further flooding in downstream communities already devastated by the disaster.