Nepal-Tibet floods: rescuers work through night at hydropower tunnel as number of missing climbs to almost 3,000 – latest updates

Nepali army digs through thick mud that has filled tunnel at plant in Rasuwa, as death toll from flash floods rises to 626 with seven confirmed dead in Tibet

• The flood took everything I have': survivors grieve for relatives and homes swept away in Nepal

• Chinese rescuers find nothing but ruins' at border crossing as Nepal seeks help to ID and store the dead

This is an interesting piece in the Conversation by Dibyesh Anand, professor of international relations and deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Westminster, about how China's control over Tibet can make it harder for Nepal and other countries downstream to prepare for sudden Himalayan disasters, such as glacial lake outburst floods.

Tibet is governed by China, which took control of the previously self-governing region by force in the early 1950s. Nepal shares a long, mountainous border with Tibet, and the two regions are closely connected by their geography, rivers and trade, making events on the Tibetan plateau particularly significant for communities downstream in Nepal.

Despite warm relations with Beijing, and the Nepalese government's assurances that it follows the One China" principle and permits no support for Tibetans, China's tight control over Tibet creates complications.

The region is administered as a militarised frontier. Access runs on permits and clearances, the area is closely watched by armed police and the military and outsiders - foreign journalists, independent researchers, at times even diplomats - are routinely kept out. Tibet is an information black hole.