China rejects Tibet dam link to Nepal flash floods amid rising toll

Beijing,UPDATED: Aug 31, 2026 19:04 IST

China on Monday rejected claims that its large hydropower projects in Tibet were linked to the flash floods that hit Nepal last week, calling such allegations "malicious speculation". The floods, believed to have been triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border, swept through northern and central Nepal, killing hundreds, leaving thousands missing, and damaging homes, roads, bridges and hydropower infrastructure.

Responding to criticism at a media briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun also denied that China was understating the number of people killed and missing. He said search, rescue and relief work was continuing and that information was being released in an open and timely manner.

Guo said, "We noted that experts and official institutions of China and Nepal have made some assessment on the cause of the disaster." He added, "According to their analysis, the mudslide was triggered by a collapse of a high-altitude glacier in Nepal." He further said, "In the face of tragic disasters, we reject malicious speculation that has no factual basis."

Rejecting criticism over casualty figures, Guo said, "Intensive search, rescue and relief operations are still underway in an orderly manner in the disaster-hit areas. China has been open, transparent and timely in information release. Smear and disinformation are most unwelcome at a time of disaster response."

On Sunday, officials in Tibet said the death toll from Wednesday's flash flood at Gyirong Port on the Tibet-Nepal border had risen to 16, while 546 people, including 49 Indians, remained missing. In Nepal, the death toll from the flash floods rose to 903 on Monday, while 4,247 people remained missing, according to the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

China has for years faced criticism over its hydropower projects in Tibet, including a USD 167.8 billion dam being built on the Brahmaputra River, which it has described as the world's largest infrastructure project. Construction of the project began in July last year. It is expected to generate more than 300 billion kWh of electricity annually, enough to meet the yearly power needs of more than 300 million people.

Chinese geologists have also raised concerns over the project, saying it is being built on an active fault line and could pose risks. China has maintained that it is following the highest industrial standards in building the dam. The project is coming up in a vast gorge in the Himalayan region, where the Brahmaputra makes a U-turn before flowing into Arunachal Pradesh and then Bangladesh. The Tibetan Plateau, often called the "roof of the world", is prone to earthquakes as it lies in a seismically active region.

China's latest response came as the flood disaster continued to take a heavy toll in Nepal and Tibet, with rescue operations under way, questions being raised over the cause of the tragedy, and scrutiny remaining on Beijing's hydropower projects in the seismically active Himalayan region.

With PTI Inputs

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