Death toll rises againBy Alexander DarlingNepal’s disaster management agency says 626 bodies have now been recovered from the disaster-affected areas.That is an extra 47 lives lost compared to the last update.The aftermath of the flash flooding in DevGhat village.Getty ImagesHere is what else they’ve just told us:2426 people remain unaccounted for, including 517 foreign nationals. That is 52 fewer people missing than in the last update, but no fewer foreign nationals.101 people are undergoing treatment in hospital.There have been a total of 4451 people rescued, including 129 foreign nationals.Nepal has deployed more than 15,000 police and army personnel for the operation.Thirty-seven truckloads and seven helicopter loads of supplies have made it to the disaster area.198 telephone lines were damaged, 145 of them have been repaired.Latest Posts3.22pmAnother missing Australian identifiedBy Mostafa RachwaniSydneysider Bharat Mangwani was confirmed missing by his friend Harsh Maheshwari.Mangwani was last heard from just before the floods, where he was in good spirits having completed his pilgrimage.He was also travelling as part of the S3 group with Trekkers Societies. He was last seen at the Gyirong Immigration Facility in Tibet, and was on his way to Kathmandu, and then to Delhi.Mangwani, an engineer based in Kellyville, has two children, a nine-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter, and his wife is currently in Nepal, searching for him.Maheshwari said his friend’s family are desperate to reach him and have published information on social media, including his name and contact details for his family.Read more about the missing Australians here.Pinned post from 2.53pmDeath toll rises againBy Alexander DarlingNepal’s disaster management agency says 626 bodies have now been recovered from the disaster-affected areas.That is an extra 47 lives lost compared to the last update.The aftermath of the flash flooding in DevGhat village.Getty ImagesHere is what else they’ve just told us:2426 people remain unaccounted for, including 517 foreign nationals. That is 52 fewer people missing than in the last update, but no fewer foreign nationals.101 people are undergoing treatment in hospital.There have been a total of 4451 people rescued, including 129 foreign nationals.Nepal has deployed more than 15,000 police and army personnel for the operation.Thirty-seven truckloads and seven helicopter loads of supplies have made it to the disaster area.198 telephone lines were damaged, 145 of them have been repaired.2.17pm‘He is so deeply loved’: Family of missing Australian pleads for informationBy Carla JaegerThe family of Royal Air Force member Karan Bhardwaj is pleading for information after losing contact with the Brisbane father, who was travelling with tour group Kailash Journeys when the flash floods hit.“Karan is a dad to my beautiful 7-year-old nephew, as well as a brother, uncle and brother-in-law,” his family member, Jen – who has asked for her last name to be omitted for privacy reasons – wrote.Brisbane father and Australian Royal Airforce member Karan Bhardwaj“He is so deeply loved by his family, and right now we are desperately praying, hoping and believing that Karan is safe, alive and somehow making his way back to us.“If you are in Nepal, travelling in the area, know someone who is there, have seen Karan, or have ANY information about his whereabouts, please contact the appropriate authorities or rescue teams immediately.”1.19pm15,000 people mobilised for rescue effortsBy Nepal has mobilised about 15,000 personnel for challenging rescue missions, including in settlements steeped in sludge and at hydropower projects where workers have been trapped in tunnels. The military has “intensified its operations” and “deployed special teams and is actively collecting bodies at a rapid pace,” the prime minister’s office said on social media.The flooding in Nuwakot, Nepal.NurPhoto via Getty ImagesRescue efforts in the remote region have been hampered by the risk of further flooding as rivers clogged with mud and debris formed new, unstable lakes upstream. Authorities were closely monitoring such lakes, some of which were quickly filling with water that could breach the banks in an uncontrolled manner.Separately, Prime Minister Balendra Shah denied reports Nepal had rejected foreign aid, saying the government was coordinating with India, China and others.The country will need at least “a few billion dollars” to recover from the devastation, prompting the $US45 billion ($62 billion) economy to seek international funding for a massive reconstruction effort, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Friday.Bloomberg12.44pm‘Waiting, hoping’: Australian Nepalese community on edge as search efforts continueBy The president of Nepalese Australian Welfare Society Chiran Tiwari said he had spoken with members of the community with missing relatives in Nepal.“They’re just waiting, they’re hoping they will find them alive,” he said.He said the situation was made harder by the lack of communication infrastructure following the flood.The lack of electricity, communication and internet is making it difficult for families awaiting news of their relatives in Nepal.Getty Images, New York Times, Kate Geraghty“The people are missing and there is no internet, no electricity, no water. It is very hard.”12.24pmNepal needs specialised experts not search and rescue helpBy Nepal needs foreign help in specialised and technical areas in which it does not have expertise in the aftermath of the devastating flood that hit its Himalayan border with China this week, but not in search and rescue, its foreign minister told Reuters.A glacier collapse on Wednesday unleashed a huge torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris through Himalayan mountain river systems, killing nearly 600 people in Nepal and China’s Tibet, with more than 2000 still unaccounted for.An aerial view shows buildings and infrastructure damaged along the swollen Trishuli River on the Tibetan side of the border with Nepal.Getty ImagesShisir Khanal said Kathmandu needs foreign help in areas such as rescuing people stuck in tunnels, opening transport and communication services in places where bridges have been destroyed, identification of dead bodies, DNA testing and storing bodies for longer durations.“We have already made requests for such specialised services and technical assistance in areas where we don’t have enough expertise and technical knowhow,” Khanal said late on Friday.12.18pm‘Holding on to hope & praying’: NSW teacher among those missingBy Cindy YinMichael Keats, a keen bushwalker from NSW, is among those missing in the Nepal floods, with his family describing the agony of not knowing his whereabouts as “unbearable”.The 37-year-old was understood to be returning from a journey to Mount Kailash in Tibet, and had reached the border crossing into Nepal when the floods struck.Michael Ryan Keats is one of the Australians missing in Nepal.FacebookKeats’ sister, Karen, confirmed her brother was missing on Friday night. “While our hearts are carrying the unbearable weight of not knowing, we are holding on to hope & praying for a miracle,” she wrote.“He travelled to this sacred part of the world on a journey had held such deep meaning for him.”11.18am‘Our hearts bleed for them’: Premier says NSW ready to send crews to flood crisisBy Megan GorreyNSW Premier Chris Minns says the state government is prepared to send emergency crews to help rescue efforts in the Nepal-Tibet flooding disaster, as dozens of Australians remain missing.Minns this morning said he joined the “chorus of concern and sorrow” across Australia and the world for the “terrible scenes” in the Nepal flood zone, and particularly for the 41 Australians still unaccounted for in the crisis.A collapsed bridge, debris and mud covering an area following flash floods in DeviGhat village, Nepal.Getty Images“Our hearts bleed for them. I imagine their families back in Australia are incredibly worried.“I want them to know the people of NSW and Australia are with them.”10.33amAssessing the extent of the damage in NepalBy Telecommunications infrastructure may be damaged across Nepal but news is seeping out about the state of the country after the flood devastated villages, wiping out bridges, roads and entire settlements in a Nepalese valley close to China.Anushka Tamang, a janitor, said, “I don’t know what to do next” as she waded through mud and sludge, The New York Times reported.Nepal will need at least “a few billion dollars” to recover from the devastation, prompting the $45 billion ($62.4 billion) economy to seek international funding for a massive reconstruction effort, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.“When you measure the damage, the infrastructure, from roads, bridges — they have gone. The suspension bridges in the river areas — they have gone,” said Niraj Bhusal, an IT engineer at Nepal’s Ministry of Finance. “It will be a very tough time.”With Bloomberg10.20amWhat triggered the flood and how it spreadBy This is a visual overview of what triggered the flooding, via The New York Times. Drawing on satellite imagery, it shows how a giant piece of glacier peeled off the side of the mountain, tumbled down 1200 vertical feet.1 of 3