Nepal flash floods death toll rises to 359, 826 still missing

The death toll from Nepal's devastating flash floods rose to 359 on Thursday, 27 August, with rescuers recovering more bodies from the worst-hit districts, police said, while 826 people remain missing.

The floods, which originated near the Nepal-China border in Rasuwa district, swept through central Nepal on Wednesday, devastating towns and villages, destroying roads and bridges and disrupting hydropower projects as the torrent surged downstream through the Trishuli and Narayani river systems.

Nepal Army personnel and other security agencies continued search and rescue operations in Rasuwa, Dhading, Nuwakot and Chitwan. Nepali Police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle said 132 bodies had been recovered from Chitwan alone.

According to data released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), 826 people are missing, including 590 tourists. India's external affairs ministry said in New Delhi that 288 of those missing are Indians.

A preliminary assessment by Nepalese authorities and a revised analysis by the US Geological Survey point to a glacial collapse or ice-rock avalanche as the likely trigger. The collapse appears to have sent ice, rock and debris into the Lhende river, temporarily blocking its flow before the blockage gave way, unleashing a massive surge into the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems.

The disaster has severely strained Nepal's response capacity, with climate experts and activists warning that many affected communities are struggling to access food, shelter, water and medical care.

Binod Prasad Parajuli, executive director of Nepal's Climate Risk and Resilience Lab, said the government and other agencies were responding, but the scale of the devastation had overwhelmed existing mechanisms.

"The government of Nepal and related stakeholders' first priority is saving lives," Parajuli, who is working with the Prime Minister's Office and NDRRMA, told PTI Videos. He said drone teams equipped with thermal and optical cameras had been deployed to locate people who may still be trapped. The government is also coordinating with commercial satellite companies to obtain high-resolution imagery for rapid damage assessment, he said.

Initial assessments based on drone and satellite imagery suggest at least 1,976 buildings have been completely damaged and around 38 km of roads destroyed, although Parajuli stressed that the figures were preliminary and likely to change.

The situation on the ground remains particularly difficult in Rasuwa, where survivors have been forced to seek refuge on higher ground. Pema Wangmo Lama, an indigenous climate activist, told PTI Videos that residents in one flood-hit area were sheltering in an open forest while awaiting rescue. A helicopter reportedly evacuated around 12-13 people from the area on Thursday morning.

In parts of neighbouring Dhading, roads remain blocked, leaving communities dependent on limited supplies at home and raising concerns about water shortages.

Conditions are comparatively better in Nuwakot, where many people who lost their homes are sheltering in government facilities. But Trishuli Hospital is also facing difficulties, with disrupted electricity supplies leaving it short of fuel for generators.

Lama said residents were also struggling to keep mobile phones charged, further disrupting communication with authorities and relief teams. Damaged infrastructure has made it difficult for local communities to communicate their needs, she said.

"Rasuwa, the starting point of the flood, remains the most vulnerable area, with the Trishuli River at Bidhur municipality serving as the only remaining point of access," Lama said, adding that rescue and relief operations in areas cut off by damaged roads were being carried out largely by helicopter.

She cautioned that contradictory reports about the cause and scale of the disaster were adding to uncertainty and stressed the need to establish reliable communication channels with affected communities. "The priority now is to build communication channels with both locals and officials to understand where the needs are and where people can safely go, since moving without accurate information risks adding to the casualty count," she said.

With PTI inputs