Nepal flash flood toll crosses 1,000 as 4,000 remain missing

Kathmandu,UPDATED: Sep 1, 2026 19:32 IST

Nepal's flash flood death toll rose to 1,003 on Tuesday as security forces recovered more bodies from eight districts, officials said. Rescue teams are still trying to trace around 4,000 missing people, including 583 foreigners and 83 security personnel, while nearly 12,000 people have been rescued, according to the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

The floods, triggered by a collapse or avalanche of ice and rock near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal. The Bhotekoshi River carried the floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects. On the Chinese side, 16 people were killed and nearly 550 remain missing in Tibet, according to Chinese media reports.

In Nepal, 321 bodies were recovered in Chitwan district, 216 in Nawalparasi East, 170 in Nawalparasi West, 95 in Nuwakot, 65 in Gorkha, 57 in Dhading, 41 in Rasuwa and 38 in Tanahun, the authority said. Hospitals are struggling with the growing number of unidentified bodies. Crowds were seen outside medical facilities, with people carrying photographs of missing relatives and checking pictures of the dead pasted on walls.

Officials said unidentified bodies have been placed in 21 hospitals across the country. Identification remains difficult because many bodies are badly decomposed or have been recovered only as partial remains after being swept downstream. Of the total bodies recovered so far, only around 60 have been handed over to relatives after identification, while nearly 700 have been buried after documentation and preservation of identification records.

Rescue teams are also trying to trace more than 600 workers and employees at hydropower project sites in flood-hit areas, with many believed to be trapped in tunnels. Expert teams from India and China are assisting Nepalese rescuers. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava said on X that India's specialised tunnel rescue team had made progress at two hydropower sites, establishing a foothold inside a tunnel at Chilime and probing up to 185 metres at Langtang. He said the team worked at the two sites in coordination with the Nepali Army despite bad weather and difficult access.

Officials said rescue work is being slowed by water, mud and debris at tunnel entrances, difficult terrain and damaged access routes. At some sites, a lack of specialised equipment and technical expertise is making it harder to reach workers who may still be trapped underground. For families, the search has become a race against time, with conflicting accounts of the last movements of their relatives and no certainty over whether they are buried under debris, trapped in tunnels or still alive but missing.

Authorities on Tuesday issued a fresh flood alert for several districts in eastern, central and western Nepal and asked people living near rivers to remain vigilant and take precautionary steps. The disaster authority said there was a high possibility of flash floods in Nuwakot and Rasuwa as water flow in smaller rivers and streams is expected to rise. It also warned of rising river levels and a moderate flash flood risk in Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Solukhumbu, Khotang, Okhaldhunga, Ramechhap, Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk, Kavrepalanchok, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kathmandu and Dhading in central Nepal, and in Gorkha, Lamjung, Dolpa, Rukum East, Rukum West, Jajarkot, Darchula, Baitadi, Dadeldhura, Doti, Kailali and Kanchanpur in western Nepal.

Water levels in the Koshi, Narayani, Bagmati, Karnali and Mahakali rivers and their tributaries, along with the Kankai, Kamala, Babai, Eastern Rapti and Western Rapti, are being closely monitored, officials said. A real-time CCTV camera has been installed at Timure in Rasuwa district to directly monitor river and flood conditions in the border area and strengthen the early warning system. Nepal's Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha on Tuesday held discussions with senior officials from the energy and meteorology departments and with experts on weather conditions and fresh flood risks in affected areas, including Rasuwa and Nuwakot. The talks also focused on continued river monitoring, strengthening the early warning system and speeding up risk reduction measures. Work is under way to manage the VSAT and communication systems needed to make the system fully operational. Officials said footage and information from the CCTV camera will be linked to the 24-hour flood forecast and early warning service for continuous river monitoring and early signs of possible flooding.

The government has mobilised more than 21,300 security personnel for search and rescue operations, while helicopters have been making repeated sorties to evacuate stranded people and deliver relief supplies. Nineteen motorable bridges and several highways and arterial roads have been washed away, including Nepal's main land trade link with China and the Rasuwagadhi border crossing. With traffic pressure rising after the floods in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading, authorities have imposed one-way traffic rules on the Prithvi and Tribhuvan highways linking Kathmandu with other parts of the country. Vehicles with up to 14 seats travelling from Kathmandu to Hetauda have been told to use the Farping-Fakhel-Kulekhani-Bhimfedi route, while those travelling from Hetauda to Kathmandu should use the Bhimfedi-Kulekhani-Sisneri-Dakshinkali route. Larger cargo and passenger vehicles with up to 10 wheels travelling from Hetauda to Kathmandu have been asked to use the Tribhuvan Highway, while those returning to Hetauda should take the Kanti Highway after floods washed away sections of the road at Krishnabhir in Dhading district.

The toll from Nepal's flash floods continued to rise on Tuesday as rescuers searched for thousands still missing, including workers feared trapped at hydropower sites, even as fresh flood alerts were issued and authorities stepped up monitoring, rescue work and traffic management in the affected areas.

With PTI Inputs

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