Nepal flood destroyed over 2,500 buildings, AFP says

More than 2,500 buildings were destroyed in Nepal's Trishuli valley by August 26 glacial floods, according to an AFP computation of data from Europe's Copernicus observatory.

The destroyed buildings made up about two-thirds of all buildings in the three potentially affected zones studied by Copernicus' emergency management service. When partially damaged buildings are included, more than seven in 10 structures were affected.

The studied areas include parts of Timure, Syabrubesi and Bidur, north of Kathmandu, and were home to nearly 6,000 people before the disaster. Images for the area around Bharatpur, Nepal's third most populous city, were still being studied on Monday morning.

Scientists attributed the flash flood to the collapse of a huge glacier in the Himalayas. The flood swept through the Gyirong border post between Nepal and Tibet after travelling about 20 kilometres from the glacier.

Timure and its surroundings lost more than 80 percent of their buildings. The affected area of Syabrubesi lost nearly three-quarters. Around Bidur, more than 1,800 buildings were destroyed, or three out of every five.

The disaster also destroyed roads and bridges, making it harder to deliver aid and search for missing people.