Image source, Getty Images

Aid is arriving but it is proving difficult to reach the people affected, United Nations resident coordinator in Nepal Lila Pieters Yahia tells the BBC.

The UN coordinator says both Indian and Chinese rescue teams that arrived yesterday were working to provide extra support.

"But it's difficult to bring it to reach the people because the access is extremely difficult," Yahia says.

The government has begun "airlifting everything" by helicopter, and using drones to deliver the aid more effectively is being discussed within the government, the official adds.

"The weather is not helping us," Yahia adds.

As we reported earlier, a rainfall warning is in effect in the disaster zone until Monday.

Navin Singh Khadka
Environment correspondent, BBC World Service

How much of a role climate change played in the collapse of the glacier that caused this devastating flood might be known if there are focused studies in the days to come.

But what we already know is that global warming has led to accelerated melting of Himalayas' glaciers, icefields, snowpacks and permafrost.

Scientists say thinning and retreating of glaciers can not only cause their collapse but can also rapidly fill up glacial lakes that can then burst out causing floods.

They say ice and snow buttress mountain slopes – just like cement keeps buildings intact. When they fast melt, then mountains destabilise and we see increased incidents of rockfalls, landslides, avalanches and debris floods – as we are seeing in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.

Because of warming, experts say, higher parts of mountains now also see rains instead of snow that can also make them unstable.

A study by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development released in March showed that ice loss rates in the region have doubled since 2000.

Image source, Getty Images

Heavy rain since the flash flooding first hit on Wednesday has made search and rescue efforts more challenging, authorities say.

And the forecast for the area suggests the wet weather will continue.

The Nepalese Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has issued yellow rain warnings for the area lasting until at least Monday, advising people to stay updated.

That's the lowest of the three warnings the agency issues - below amber and red - and is fairly typical for the area. But it will likely further hamper efforts on the ground.

Drone video captures moment of glacier collapsepublished at 03:24 BST 30 August

03:24 BST 30 August

By Charlotte Green and Benedict Garman

BBC Verify has authenticated two videos which show the moment of a glacier collapse in the Himalayas which triggered the deadly Nepal-Tibet floods.

The videos, filmed by a drone and posted to the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, capture the landslide near the Langtang Lirung peak, more than 7,200m (23,600ft) above sea level.

Plumes of dust can be seen rising into the air near the snow-covered mountains.

The location of the clips match the direction of the floodwater which surged down the Trishuli river, devastating villages and communities along its way.

Simon Atkinson
Australia reporter

Chinese state media is reporting that there are six Australians among the 261 foreign nationals identified as missing on the Chinese side of the border between Nepal and Tibet.

I am trying to establish whether the Australian government believes that those six are among the total of 41 citizens unaccounted for (the national broadcaster the ABC says it understands this has risen to 42 but I have not yet verified this).

One of those missing is Sumi Adhikari from Sydney. This morning I've been in touch with her husband Nava Pandey, who has travelled to Nepal to try and help locate her.

He is asking for "close coordination between the Nepalese and Chinese authorities".

"We respectfully call upon the Chinese government and local authorities to release all available verified information, provide regular updates about the search efforts and establish direct communication with the affected families," Pandey says.

"Families should not be left without answers during such a critical time."

Image source, Supplied

As I mentioned in a post yesterday, also missing from the same tour group is Reshma Patel from Newcastle in New South Wales.

Her husband Bhavin Patel has also flown to Nepal and in a statement says that phone data had led him to believe his wife had crossed into Tibet.

"We respectfully appeal to Australia, Nepal and China for urgent coordination and continued search efforts in the Gyirong area," he wrote.

"Our family is desperately seeking assistance to locate her".

According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, 261 foreigners from 23 countries are among the 546 missing people in the Tibet flood.

Chinese authorities have notified their embassies and consulates in China, CCTV reports.

Fifteen British nationals are among the missing in Tibet, according to the report.

Nepalese authorities have already reported that 33 British nationals are missing. Several of them are thought to have been making their way across the border to Tibet, so it is unclear how many of the 15 British nationals reported as missing by Chinese authorities are included in the figure reported by Nepal.

Here is a further breakdown of missing foreigners on the Tibet side, according to Chinese state media: three Malaysians, 104 Nepalis, 49 Indians, four South Africans, two Irish nationals, two Estonians, three Germans, three Russians, two French nationals, one Finn, two Dutch nationals, 33 Latvians, one Lithuanian, one Portuguese national, one Ukrainian, one Spaniard, one Hungarian, six Canadians, 18 Americans, six Australians and two New Zealanders.

The information on the missing people came from a joint investigation and collaboration between multiple agencies including foreign affairs, public security, culture and tourism and emergency management.

Members of the military and police are among those who are continuing to search for the hundreds of people still missing in both countries.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, as of 18:00 local time (11:00 BST) Saturday, 16 people had died from the mudslide in Gyirong county, Shigatse city, while 546 others are missing.

Previously officials had said seven people had died.

At a news conference in Gyirong County, officials said the mudslide had caused significant casualties at the Gyirong border port.

Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) says it has received reports of a flood level increase near the Bhote Koshi River.

This was one of two rivers through which powerful flood water and debris travelled on Wednesday, rushing past popular tourist and pilgrim towns in northern Nepal.

The NDRRMA says people should stay alert in the areas around the river.

Initial reports of an earthquake on the Nepal-Tibet border led many to believe that a tremor had caused a landslide, which in turn caused the devastating floods early on Wednesday.

However, the US Geological Survey (USGS) later confirmed the disaster was caused by a "glacial collapse", which is when a glacier or part of a glacier disintegrates.

The impact of the collapsed glacier hitting the bottom of a valley was so powerful that it registered a magnitude of 5.2, according to the agency, causing "subsequent catastrophic impacts downstream".

Powerful floodwaters and debris travelled some 62 miles (100km) downstream from the Trishuli and Bhote Koshi Rivers, the USGS said, careering through towns popular with mountaineering tourists and pilgrims in northern Nepal.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIDMOD) has warned secondary flooding could occur in the coming days as a result of debris that washed into the river systems.

The ICIDMOD said they were assessing whether the Trishuli River had been temporarily blocked in narrow sections. If this is the case, it is at risk of forming a landslide dam and a second flood.

The US will be providing $3.6m (£2.6m) in humanitarian assistance, including up to three months of emergency food assistance to 10,000 households affected by the floods, the State Department says.

“There is no higher priority for us than the safety of American citizens,” states a post from the department on X.

“Our embassies in Nepal and China are working closely to assist Americans and support disaster relief efforts.”

Image source, Nepalese government

Throughout Saturday, Nepalese energy minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha provided updates on rescue efforts at hydroelectric facilities in the flood-hit area.

At the Trishuli-3 'A' hydropower site rescuers have managed to drill a hole into one of the facility's cable tunnels.

He says an initial inspection reveals no debris inside, but no communication has been established with anyone inside.

The hope is that rescuers will be able to make a hole big enough for a person to enter, which may allow rescuers to access the site's main tunnel.

In his most recent update, he says rescuers would try and work through the night, but that there is a risk their efforts could be impacted and even suspended "for some time as water flow is increasing due to continuous rain".

Earlier in the day, he said rescue efforts were also continuing at another hydroelectic facility, Trishuli-3 'B'.

Specialist teams from China and India have joined Nepalese rescuers for search and rescue efforts linked to a number of hydroelectric sites in the area.

In its most recent update, the Nepal Tourism Board said that 261 foreign nationals have been rescued while 320 are unaccounted for.

Officials have provided this breakdown showing how many people from each country have been rescued:

• Belgium - 1
• Bulgaria - 1
• China - 40
• Germany - 4
• India - 167
• Italy - 2
• Malta - 4
• Oman - 1
• Portugal - 1
• Russia - 2
• Spain - 2
• Switzerland - 2
• Turkey -2
• Ukraine - 8
• US - 3
• Unidentified - 21

Image source, Reuters

Rescue efforts have entered their fifth day in Nepal and Tibet after flash flooding devestated a border area on Wednesday.

The US Geological Survey and local officials believe the devestating flow of water, mud and debris was caused by a glacier collapsing.

In Nepal, at least 675 people have died, according to the country's disaster response agency.

It says more than 2,400 people are missing, and more than 18,700 rescuers have been deployed.

In Tibet, the official death toll is seven, with 554 reported missing, according to Chinese state media.