Video shows people fleeing after mudslides near Nepal-China border in Tibet following 4.4 quake

Terrifying video captured people running as a sudden mudslide surged through parts of Gyirong, a town in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region near the Nepal border, following an earthquake that officials said triggered flash flooding in the area. The footage, broadcast by Fox News, shows water and debris cutting across streets and rushing into structures as residents appear to flee moments after the event began.

The incident follows a reported magnitude 4.4 earthquake that struck in the region, according to the Fox News report. The report says the quake was followed quickly by flash flooding and subsequent mudslides, conditions that can develop rapidly in mountainous border areas where heavy rain, unstable slopes, or saturated ground reduce stability after seismic shaking.

In the Fox News account, the mudslides are shown engulfing buildings in and around Gyirong. The video depicts people moving away from impact zones as debris flows over roads and into inhabited areas, underscoring the speed at which the secondary hazards can follow the initial quake.

The timing described by the report is central to the emergency picture: residents appear to have had little time to react once the flooding and landslides began. In such events, evacuation and road closures are often difficult as access routes can be cut by slides and as rescue teams must assess ongoing slope instability before approaching affected neighborhoods.

Although the Fox News piece focuses on the video and the sequence of events, it does not provide specific casualty or damage totals in the material supplied for this write-up. As a result, officials’ confirmed figures, including any reports of injuries, deaths, missing persons, or the extent of structural damage, should be treated as unverified until stated by regional or national authorities.

The incident highlights the shared emergency challenges for communities on both sides of the Nepal-China border. Cross-border geography in the Himalayas means hazards such as landslides and flooding can affect multiple jurisdictions, complicating coordination among local governments, emergency services, and communications networks during fast-developing disasters.

For Gyirong residents, the immediate next steps typically involve continuing rescue operations, stabilizing or clearing access routes where it is safe to do so, and monitoring for additional slope failures after the quake and its aftershocks. Longer-term actions can include assessment of building safety, road infrastructure inspections, and updates to risk mitigation plans for families living in landslide-prone areas near steep terrain.