Red Cross: 93,000 people affected by flooding in the Himalayas

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on Friday that an estimated 93,000 people had been affected by the flash floods in the border region between Nepal and China.

These include not only the injured, but also, for example, the residents of the thousands of destroyed homes, said the IFRC's representative in Nepal, David Fisher.

"The magnitude of the disaster is just — I can't find the words to describe what happened yesterday," said Lila Pieters Yahia. The local representative of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is currently visiting the disaster area.

More than 40 bridges and 40 kilometres of road have been destroyed or severely damaged. Hydroelectric power plants have also been affected.

The UN agency for children, UNICEF, said at least 17,000 children are in urgent need of humanitarian aid in the region. It added that 18 schools have been destroyed and 20 more damaged.

Children in the disaster-stricken area are now at risk of malnutrition, violence, exploitation and psychological trauma, said UNICEF spokesman Ricardo Pires in Geneva. "The emergency does not end when the floodwaters recede," he said.