Search for nearly 3,000 missing in Nepal and Tibet resumes; Sydney woman found safe

Nepali authorities resumed search and rescue work after a brief weather-related suspension , looking for nearly 3,000 missing people following a devastating flood that killed hundreds and tore through a region bordering Tibet.

It comes as an unaccounted-for Sydney woman, Cara Severino, 26, made contact with her parents on Saturday before she was safely located by Australian consular officials.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said it was "a rare piece of positive news amid a disaster that has brought immense loss and uncertainty".

"I feel for the families of those still missing — I know how much my family and friends went through," she said.

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

"Blessed to be from Australia and have the embassy and Australian government giving so much support."

Forty-one Australians remain unaccounted for after a glacier collapse triggered a torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris through mountain river systems on Wednesday, killing at least 669 people in Nepal and seven in China's Tibet.

Nearly 3,000 people remain missing, including about 2,426 in Nepal and 554 in Tibet's Gyirong County, among them at least 540 foreign nationals, many of them Hindu pilgrims from India.

Nepal has called for specialised foreign assistance, and its finance minister said it would need up to US$5 billion ($7 billion) to rebuild.

Search and rescue operations resumed on Sunday afternoon after being temporarily halted because of rain and fog, a police officer in hard-hit Rasuwa district said.

"Helicopters are flying and the operation resumed following some improvement in weather," he said, on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

On Friday, authorities also suspended rescue work when a lake, formed across the Nepal-China border after the flood, began overflowing into Nepal's Lhende Khola and Trishuli rivers.

By Saturday, the risk had eased and parts of the lake bed were visible, Chinese authorities and state broadcaster CCTV said. Satellite images suggested water was slowly draining from the lake, gradually reducing its size, CCTV reported.

The lake is one of two upstream of the flood zone that Nepal is monitoring. Flood risks will persist until both have fully drained, an official warned.