Nepal's disaster authority has a new worry to add to the pile: the lake that formed at the site of the catastrophic flash flood is rising and might burst, so they're politely asking everyone to please stay away from the riverbanks. The lake came into existence on Wednesday when a river got blocked, which sounds like the start of a very bad joke but is actually just another Tuesday in the Himalayas.

Meanwhile, the numbers keep climbing. Abi Narayan Kafle, central spokesperson for the Nepal Police, told AP that 353 people are now confirmed dead as of Thursday. Local media report that 332 bodies have been recovered so far, with more than 900 people still unaccounted for. Because why would the universe give anyone a break? Over in Tibet, China's state broadcaster reports three confirmed deaths and an additional 500-plus people missing. Rescue teams have found bodies hundreds of miles downstream in Nepal's Chitwan district, near the Tibetan border - because the floodwaters thought, 'Why not spread the misery around?'

Among the missing are 35 Australians, including a New South Wales couple on a spiritual pilgrimage. Because nothing says 'enlightenment' like a flash flood. The Australian government says officials are 'working around the clock' to check on tourists, which is probably small comfort to families back home.

Even Pope Leo XIV is 'saddened' by the devastation, as the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, sent a note extending the Pope's heartfelt sympathies and spiritual closeness. Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan pledged solidarity and a humanitarian assistance package, plus a Consular Response Team for affected Singaporeans. The UK's Prime Minister Andy Burnham, during a visit to South Wales, called it 'a devastating picture' and pledged £5 million plus emergency responders, noting some British nationals are missing. 'Scenes that we've never seen the like before,' he said, which is both accurate and a bit of an understatement.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has released CHF 997,000 (about £911,000) from its Disaster Response Emergency Fund, including an immediate CHF 100,000 advance. Red Cross teams are on the ground with food, water, shelter materials, and first aid, though roads are damaged and access is 'extremely limited' - which is Red Cross-speak for 'good luck getting there.'

Scientists are pointing at climate change as a likely accomplice, though they're careful not to pin the whole thing on it. The disaster probably started with a massive ice-rock avalanche on the northern slopes of Nepal's Langtang Lirung peak into the Lhende Khola river on the Tibetan side. Simon Cox, chief scientist at the Mountains to Sea programme at Earth Sciences New Zealand, says climate change is 'generating conditions that can destabilise high-mountain rock and ice,' making collapses and cascading hazards like this week's more frequent. So, you know, thanks for that, climate change. As if we needed more reasons to panic.