Emily KaineUpdated August 28, 2026 — 6:25am,first published 6:00amWhat you need to know today By Emily KaineHello and welcome back to our live coverage of news from Australia and around the world, as search and rescue efforts continue in Nepal and Tibet after an ice avalanche caused catastrophic flash floods. The total death toll has risen to 389 and 39 Australians are missing.Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday morning that the number of Australians missing in the disaster had risen to 39, up from 35.Two boys aged 11 and 14 are among a group of 15 Australians who were travelling together through the region with a US-based tourism operator when the catastrophic floods hit. The entire travel group is yet to be accounted for.More than 1300 people, including more than 667 foreigners from 33 countries, remain unaccounted for, as Nepalese authorities say they are yet to determine the number of locals missing.The danger has not passed for those in the flood-affected areas. Nepal and China both warned yesterday of fresh risks of flooding in the Himalayas as two lakes that have developed on each side of their border threaten to burst.More information has emerged about the origins of the deadly flooding, which was likely set off in part by an enormous chunk of ice snapping off a glacier and cascading thousands of feet to the valley below, in a phenomenon known as an ice avalanche.Australian authorities are planning to assist local authorities to locate people missing in the disaster’s aftermath.Read more on the Nepal flood disaster:News: Missing Australians on tour as tidal wave of mud, rock and water tore through villagesVisual story: A terrifying roar, then came the fury of the flood: How disaster unfolded in Nepal‘Like a bomb exploded’: Likely cause of Nepal catastrophe‘Huge gush of mud’: Survivors tell of escape from wall of rock and waterVideo: People flee as mudslide hits port on China-Nepal borderLatest Posts6.25amGovernment confirms 39 Australians now missing By Emily KaineThere are now 39 Australians missing in Nepal and China, Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed in an update this morning, as the government continues urgently working to confirm their welfare. “The extraordinary scale of this disaster and the remoteness of the affected region mean immense challenges lie ahead for the response and recovery,” a statement from Wong’s office read. 6.14amThe devastation in Nepal, in pictures By As search and recovery efforts continue in flood-ravaged Nepal and authorities warn of a second flood risk, survivors are grappling with the magnitude of the disaster.A girl cries as she waits for news of relatives missing in Bidur in Nepal’s Nuwakot district.APA Nepalese resident carries belongings across a road heavily covered in mud.Getty ImagesDamage to buildings in Devighat in the Nuwakot district in Nepal. APSoldiers carry babies rescued from isolated towns and airlifted to a military camp in Trishuli, Nepal. Getty Images6.00amNepali army rescues 350 people trapped in tunnelBy Emily KaineThe Nepali army has rescued 350 people from a tunnel near the Trishuli River in central Nepal, according to the country’s prime ministerial office.Footage posted on social media shows rescue teams belaying down the walls of the tunnel.Those rescued were workers and locals, according to the prime minister, and the army is still working to rescue another 100 people still trapped inside.5.57amFear of fresh flooding if lakes burst, authorities say By Nepal and China both warned yesterday of fresh risks of flooding in the Himalayas as two lakes that have developed on each side of their border threaten to burst.The Nepalese disaster authority issued a notice warning that a lake formed by debris blocking a river at the flood site is rising and at risk of bursting.“Residents of the lower banks... passengers, rescuers engaged in rescue operations, and all concerned are requested to exercise special caution and stay in safe places away from the river banks and risky areas,” the authority said.China warns that 3 million cubic meters of water – the equivalent of about 1200 Olympic swimming pools – are expected to flow into an already dammed lake on its side of the border over the next three days, creating a high risk of a breach, with peak flow expected about September 1.The formation of a barrier lake was captured in aerial footage by a Chinese rescue team yesterday, state broadcaster CGTN reported.Pinned post from 5.55amWhat you need to know today By Emily KaineHello and welcome back to our live coverage of news from Australia and around the world, as search and rescue efforts continue in Nepal and Tibet after an ice avalanche caused catastrophic flash floods. The total death toll has risen to 389 and 39 Australians are missing.Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday morning that the number of Australians missing in the disaster had risen to 39, up from 35.Two boys aged 11 and 14 are among a group of 15 Australians who were travelling together through the region with a US-based tourism operator when the catastrophic floods hit. The entire travel group is yet to be accounted for.More than 1300 people, including more than 667 foreigners from 33 countries, remain unaccounted for, as Nepalese authorities say they are yet to determine the number of locals missing.The danger has not passed for those in the flood-affected areas. Nepal and China both warned yesterday of fresh risks of flooding in the Himalayas as two lakes that have developed on each side of their border threaten to burst.More information has emerged about the origins of the deadly flooding, which was likely set off in part by an enormous chunk of ice snapping off a glacier and cascading thousands of feet to the valley below, in a phenomenon known as an ice avalanche.Australian authorities are planning to assist local authorities to locate people missing in the disaster’s aftermath.Read more on the Nepal flood disaster:News: Missing Australians on tour as tidal wave of mud, rock and water tore through villagesVisual story: A terrifying roar, then came the fury of the flood: How disaster unfolded in Nepal‘Like a bomb exploded’: Likely cause of Nepal catastrophe‘Huge gush of mud’: Survivors tell of escape from wall of rock and waterVideo: People flee as mudslide hits port on China-Nepal border1 of 1