A glacier collapse near the China-Nepal border has killed more than a thousand people and left approximately 4,600 missing, including more than 40 members of Churches of Christ who were working along the Trishuli River.

An American mission team narrowly escaped the same floodwaters on August 26, turned back by a Nepali police officer just minutes before a bridge they planned to cross was swallowed by a wall of mud, rock, and ice. Jerry Ross, an associate minister at East Colbert Church of Christ in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, sent a message from Nepal to The Christian Chronicle describing the close call.

Ross, Nepali ministers Pramod Dhakal and Krishna Oli, and fellow Christians were headed to Dhading Besi to host a gospel meeting when an officer stopped them before the bridge over the Trishuli River and warned of rising water. The officer forced the group to take shelter in a safer location. Shortly after, the bridge was gone.

"We missed it by 30 minutes. If the police hadn't turned us around, we would have been swept away with a bridge or caught on the wrong side of the bridge, unable to get back."

Dhakal, who oversees Nepal Bible College in Kathmandu, confirmed the destruction in his own account.

"In a while, the connecting bridge to Dhading Besi was swallowed by the rising flood."

A glacier gave way at 17,000 feet, and entire villages vanished

The World Meteorological Organization reported that the collapse of a high-altitude glacier near the China-Nepal border triggered an avalanche of ice and rock. The debris dammed river channels and unleashed what the organization described as "a tsunami of mud, boulder and water" along the banks of the Trishuli River. The AP News reported that satellite imagery analyzed by Earth scientists showed a chunk of bedrock beneath the Langtang Lirung glacier collapsed, taking part of the glacier with it and sending boulders and ice into the valley below.

Dan Shugar, an associate professor at the University of Calgary, described the mechanism plainly: "You have this big bedrock failure that took part of the glacier with it."

The scale of the destruction is staggering. The Nepali government estimated at least 1,010 people died. China reported additional deaths on the Tibet side of the border, though no specific figure has been released. Fox News reported the death toll had climbed past 360 at one point, with more than 1,400 still missing, including approximately 90 Americans. The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed the disaster was caused by a glacial avalanche that registered as a magnitude 5.2 landslide, not an earthquake.

At least 19 bridges and nearly 25 miles of road were swept away, along with 15 hydropower plants and hundreds of vehicles, the New York Post reported. More than 63 Americans were among those unaccounted for. The U.S. Embassy said the United States was "deeply saddened" by the death toll and urged U.S. citizens in affected regions to avoid low-lying areas. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that "the State Department stands ready to support the Government of Nepal with needed humanitarian assistance."

The Washington Examiner reported that foreign nationals from multiple countries were among the dead and missing, including pilgrims and tourists. The disaster's reach across international borders, and across communities of faith, has drawn global attention.

Rasuwa District cut off, and two church members set out on foot

The more than 40 missing Church of Christ members had been working at a hydropower facility along the Trishuli River. With roads and bridges destroyed across Nepal's rugged terrain, the hard-hit Rasuwa District was entirely cut off from outside aid.

Two Nepali church members, Sanjaya Thapa and Markus Tamang, set out on foot along a Himalayan trail toward Rasuwa District to check on seven congregations and assess relief and rebuilding needs. The journey was expected to take two days. Dhakal asked for prayers on their behalf.

"They will go around and visit seven churches as much as possible to know the actual scenario and needs of relief and rebuilding.... Please pray for the safety of two brothers who dared to travel on foot caring for affected brethren."

Krishna Oli made contact with Karpo Lama, a preacher in the affected region, who described a dire situation on the ground. Natural disasters of this kind have struck with increasing frequency across vulnerable regions worldwide, from deadly wildfires in southern Spain to earthquake zones in Latin America.

"All the roads are blocked because of the catastrophic floods, making it extremely difficult to bring essential supplies into the affected areas."

Oli relayed Lama's report that "the situation is becoming very difficult due to severe food shortages." No word has emerged on whether Lama himself is safe.

Eighty-five young Christians traveled through flood zones to reach a youth camp

Days after the disaster, Nepal Bible College sponsored a Christian youth camp in Pokhara, a popular tourist town known for its scenic views of the Himalayas. Approximately 85 youths from flood-affected areas attended. Many had to take long bus routes to avoid flooded roads and downed bridges.

Dhakal said the young people "were committed to attending the youth camp in Pokhara" despite the destruction around them. The gathering stood in sharp contrast to the devastation that had swept their communities just days earlier. Some commentators in the U.S. have tried to turn the disaster into a political weapon, as one columnist noted when the left blamed the administration for a mountain collapse in Tibet. But for the Nepali Christians who gathered in Pokhara, the crisis was not about politics. It was about survival and faith.

Oli also reported four baptisms after the mission team escaped the floodwaters, a sign, he said, that the ministry's work continued even amid catastrophe. He referenced Psalm 147:3: "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds."

"This tragedy has brought an even greater burden for prayer, pastoral care, encouragement and practical assistance to affected churches, families, and communities. In the midst of suffering and uncertainty, the ministry continues to trust God, serve his people, proclaim his Word and encourage believers to remain faithful to Christ."

Relief efforts face blocked roads and unanswered questions

One Kingdom, a Louisiana-based ministry associated with Churches of Christ, is collecting funds for relief efforts in Nepal. The organization works with Dhakal and Oli and has set up a donation page for the disaster response. No figure for total funds raised has been released.

Major questions remain unanswered. No confirmed count of the missing church members, dead or alive, has been released beyond the "more than 40" figure. It is unclear whether Thapa and Tamang have reached Rasuwa District or made contact since departing. The precise hydropower facility where the missing members worked has not been publicly identified. The international response to natural disasters often lags behind the immediate need, and Nepal's destroyed infrastructure makes this crisis especially difficult to reach.

Alton Byers, a mountain geographer at the University of Colorado at Boulder, told the AP that warming trends are making events like this more likely. "All the indicators, to me, point to the impacts of warming trends," he said. Whether the cause is climate, geology, or both, the people buried under the debris and cut off from aid are not waiting for a scientific consensus. They need food, roads, and help.

A Nepali police officer's split-second decision saved an American minister and his companions. More than a thousand families across Nepal and Tibet were not so fortunate. The least the rest of the world can do is pay attention, and for those inclined, answer the call for help that Oli and Dhakal have not stopped making.