Rescue teams waded through mud on Thursday searching for more than 1,400 people missing after flash floods and landslides struck the Nepal-Tibet border, as the death toll rose again to 392, with entire villages swept away.

Experts warned of the risk of further floods a day after the devastating tsunami-like wall of freezing water and mud wiped out towns under a torrent of sludge, engulfing homes, smashing bridges and dams and sweeping vehicles away like toys.

Many of the missing are foreign tourists, including trekkers in the Himalayan nation, as well as scores of Hindu pilgrims to Tibet's sacred snow-capped Mount Kailash.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the disaster was caused by a glacial collapse that triggered a vast flow of icy debris.

Climate change is causing glaciers to melt worldwide, increasing the risks of glacial lake floods and glacial collapses.