A devastating flash flood has ravaged the Nepal-Tibet border, leaving widespread destruction in its wake. Footage from CCTV cameras shows a wall of water, mud, boulders, ice, and rock surging down the valley at Gyirong, the Chinese side of the border, on August 26.

The flood, which occurred just minutes after the Nepalese immigration office opened for business that morning, swept away buildings, vehicles, and infrastructure. The Friendship Bridge linking Nepal and China was also destroyed, along with immigration and customs facilities.

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Timure, a small trading settlement clustered around the crossing, was severely affected. Satellite images reveal extensive damage to the area, with many buildings and vehicles lost in the disaster.

"This is a historic travel route between Kathmandu and Tibet," says Posh Raj Pandey, chairman emeritus of the Kathmandu-based South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment. "The area is geologically vulnerable, characterized "

The disaster has highlighted the importance of alternative trade routes for Nepal, which relies heavily on the Nepal-China border crossing. The closure of the crossing has left Nepal increasingly dependent on Tatopani, another border point that has also been temporarily closed due to landslide risks.

Estimates suggest that up to 2,000-2,500 people may have been caught in the flood, with many more still missing. The Nepalese immigration office reported its final transaction at 8:35am local time, just before the flood struck.

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"My 40-50 close friends are missing," says Tika Ram Pokharel, a senior immigration assistant at the Rasuwagadhi Immigration Office, who was one of the few staff members to survive the disaster.

Pokharel believes that the true extent of the damage may be much higher than official figures suggest. He estimates that 2,000-2,500 people may have been affected