China is trying to restore the road to Cat Long border gate after flash floods

China deployed dozens of excavators to rebuild the road to Cat Long border gate that was flattened during the flash flood on August 26.

China dispatched more than 2,000 search and rescue personnel, including military units, armed police and personnel from the state-owned China Anneng corporation, along with 269 vehicles and 3,922 sets of specialized equipment to the scene of the flash flood on the border with Nepal, CGTN reported on August 31.

Many heavy equipment such as excavators, bulldozers and large trucks were mobilized to reopen Highway G216, the main road leading to Cat Long (Gyirong) border gate, which was destroyed in the flash flood on August 26. As of the morning of August 31, rescue forces had cleared 553 m of the road and were still about 1.15 km from the border gate.

Video released by Chinese state media shows excavators working continuously next to the muddy riverbank, rebuilding roads that were destroyed by floodwaters.

An expert from China Anneng, a group that has repeatedly participated in technical tasks after natural disasters, said the campaign faced many major challenges, including operating machinery next to fast-flowing water, causing reduced performance and high risks, while time was running out.

According to this expert, the upstream Tibet area is in flood season, and the unpredictable flow makes the operation to clean up and clear Highway G216 even more urgent.

China's Ministry of Water Resources said that as of the evening of August 29, the clogged lake formed after a landslide three days earlier above Cat Long border gate "has basically drained all the water". However, a landslide about 5.6 km upstream from this lake is still of concern.

Cat Long border gate was one of the first places destroyed in the flash flood. Video recorded by surveillance cameras showed flood waves tens of meters high rushing through the border gate in a few dozen seconds, destroying the fortified checkpoint and nearby parking lot, leaving many people without a chance to escape.

Images published on August 31 show that the structures at this once bustling border gate have been completely destroyed.

China also deployed teams of psychological experts to Cat Long to support people in the disaster area, and sent relief shipments to assist Nepal in overcoming the consequences.

Nepali officials said on August 31 that the country had found 903 bodies of flash flood victims, 267 injured people and 4,247 missing people. In China, 16 people died and 546 people are missing.

Nepal has mobilized nearly 21,000 soldiers and security personnel to participate in searching for victims. The Nepal Army said it was working to clear mud to reach 100 workers believed to be still alive and trapped in hydroelectric tunnels.

Because morgues were overloaded, Nepal was forced to bury many bodies after taking DNA samples so their relatives could claim them later. Nepali officials called for international assistance, saying they needed more than 1,000 freezers to preserve the bodies and warning that reconstruction costs could reach billions of dollars.