A video showing a massive wall of floodwater engulfing an immigration centre at Gyirong Port, the key border crossing between Tibet and Nepal, went viral after it emerged online, with hundreds of people seen desperately fleeing the advancing waters. Since the catastrophic floods struck, it has been the most significant visual evidence to emerge from Chinese-controlled Tibet, offering the outside world a glimpse of the destruction.
But Chinese censors in Tibet moved quickly, and the video vanished from social media almost immediately. So far, state-run media has aired only a single frame from the footage.
China's strict approach to censorship is well known, with internet users largely exposed only to information and images approved by the authorities. The extent of the devastation is difficult to ignore, particularly as Nepal's death toll has crossed 500 and is expected to rise. Yet China said on Friday that only five people had died, while 558 were missing, including 260 foreigners.
Beyond those figures, little information has emerged. There have been no detailed accounts from survivors, specific reports about affected villages or public messages from the families of victims.
For foreign journalists, assessing the situation on the ground has been extremely challenging. Travel to Tibet requires government approval, and even when videos showing destruction or accounts from residents appear online, they can disappear within hours.
Several posts on social media have accused China's ruling Communist Party of silencing citizens.
One account claimed that numerous videos documenting the floods had been removed from WeChat and other online platforms. Videos showing victims appealing for help were also allegedly deleted, while some accounts were reportedly banned.
Tibetans have also faced restrictions in communicating with foreign journalists. Human Rights Watch has said this is partly because people are required to install phone applications containing government surveillance features. Some smaller Chinese state-run media outlets initially managed to publish footage from the affected area, which is home to thousands of people, including interviews with witnesses. Those reports, however, were reportedly removed within hours.
As a result, information has largely come through state media, which has concentrated on dramatic rescue operations. Footage has shown specialist teams climbing mountains and crossing powerful rivers to reach the worst-hit areas. What happens after rescuers arrive, however, has received little coverage.
While international attention has remained focused on the devastating flash floods, China's main state television bulletin on Friday instead highlighted President Xi Jinping's latest book, a collection of what it described as his "most important and fundamental works".
The situation has been markedly different in Nepal. Authorities there have allowed journalists from around the world to travel through affected areas, speak with survivors, film the destruction and independently assess conditions on the ground.
At the same time, Beijing has emphasised that rescue operations remain a national priority. Hundreds of emergency personnel have been deployed to speed up rescue efforts. State media reported that Xi chaired a meeting on Friday to oversee the response and instructed authorities to make every possible effort to locate missing people, both Chinese citizens and foreigners.
Xi also sent Premier Li Qiang to the affected region. China's state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Li as saying that the President was "deeply concerned" about those living in the disaster-hit areas.
