The UK on Thursday offered 5 million pounds and emergency responders to Nepal after flash floods in the country claimed hundreds of lives and left over a thousand missing, including around 33 British nationals.British Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the scenes emerging from the region as “devastating” and urged British nationals caught up in the crisis to follow guidance from the local authorities. He said immediate action already taken by the UK includes deploying consular support staff to the impacted area to facilitate round-the-clock support for British nationals.”It’s a devastating picture that is emerging from what has happened in Nepal,” Burnham told reporters during a visit to South Wales.”An offer has been made of emergency responders to head to the region, but that’s obviously a matter for the Nepalese government. But also we’ve offered 5 million pounds to help with that response effort.”Obviously, there are a number of British nationals who currently are thought to be missing and we’ll be providing all the support we can to their families in what is a very distressing and devastating situation,” he said.The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it is looking to provide humanitarian support following a request by the Nepali government for food, shelter and health services.However, it indicated that comprehensive humanitarian assessments are likely to take some time due to the scale of the damage. “I spoke to the Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal this morning [Thursday] and expressed Britain’s solidarity and deepest condolences for the disaster that has occurred,” said Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.”I thanked him for the efforts of the Nepali government in support of British nationals in the area. I also offered financial, search and rescue and other help to aid the disaster response. Above all, I told him we will do everything we can to help Nepal in its hour of need,” he said.The Foreign Office said it is engaging with development partners, donors and international allies on a coordinated response activity in the region following the natural disaster, which caused massive landslides on Wednesday.Global funds, to which the UK contributes, are said to be already disbursing funds to support the humanitarian response, such as the IFRC Disaster Relief Emergency Fund.Flash floods on the Nepal-Tibet border caused rivers to burst their banks and covered populated areas in thick mud, burying houses and creating difficult conditions for rescuers.The Nepal Centre for Disaster Management has described the scene as being like a “tsunami from the sky” and that villages have been “completely wiped out”.