SOME survivors sheltering in relief camps after deadly floods in Nepal struggled today to obtain essential medicines, even as authorities provided food and other basic supplies to thousands of displaced people.

The shortages are adding to the hardships of those living in temporary shelters after having lost homes and belongings.

Disaster chief Dharam Raj Uprety said health centres staffed by doctors and stocked with medicine had been set up at each shelter.

In the town of Bidu, along the River Trishuli, residents used a temporary zip line to cross between the riverbanks.

Soldiers helped people onto the makeshift crossing and as off again they reached the opposite bank, while others waited along the riverbank for their turn.

The August 26 floods, which were probably caused by a glacier collapse, devastated towns and valleys in Nepal, destroying homes, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure.

At least 1,252 people were killed and more than 4,200 remain missing, according to the country’s disaster management agency. 

China said on Wednesday night that 21 people had been killed and 541 were missing on the other side of the border in Tibet.

Meanwhile, rescue efforts have increasingly focused on tunnels at several hydroelectric projects where workers are believed to be trapped.

About 900 remain missing and specialised rescue teams from India, China and the US are involved in efforts to reach them.

It is unclear whether the trapped workers remain alive.