Nepal-Tibet flood death toll rises to 1,243 as PM Shah flags climate change link
According to Nepal Police, 4,875 people remain missing, including 583 foreigners
The death toll from the devastating flash floods in Nepal has risen to 1,243, with thousands still missing as rescuers battle rain, debris and difficult terrain to search for survivors along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems.
The floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on 26 August, swept through towns and villages across northern and central Nepal, causing widespread destruction and leaving thousands unaccounted for.
According to Nepal Police, 4,875 people remain missing, including 583 foreigners. Security forces have rescued 11,993 people by helicopter and overland routes, while more than 21,000 personnel have been deployed for search and rescue operations.
The disaster has hit eight districts particularly hard. Chitwan has recorded 348 deaths, followed by Nawalparasi East with 218, Nawalparasi West with 208 and Nuwakot with 155. Rasuwa has reported 127 deaths, while Gorkha, Dhading and Tanahu have recorded 69, 60 and 38 deaths respectively.
On the Chinese side of the border, the death toll from flooding in Tibet's Gyirong county has risen to 21, with another 541 people reported missing. China's foreign ministry said nearly 100 Chinese nationals remain unaccounted for in Nepal.
Rescue efforts have intensified at hydropower projects along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, where hundreds of workers are feared trapped inside tunnels and underground powerhouses.
Data from Nepal's Independent Power Producers' Association shows 947 people from various hydropower projects remain unaccounted for, although authorities have yet to determine how many are trapped underground and how many were swept away.
More than 557 people are missing from the 216-MW Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project alone. At the 60-MW Upper Trishuli-3A project, 42 people are believed to be trapped inside the underground powerhouse.
Another 191 people are unaccounted for at the 37-MW Upper Trishuli-3B project, while 93 are missing from the 111-MW Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project. Forty-one people are also feared trapped at the 20-MW Langtang Khola Hydropower Project.
Rescue teams comprising the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, foreign technical experts and hydropower workers are searching the tunnels, but massive quantities of debris carried by the floods have made it difficult even to locate some tunnel entrances.
Continuing rainfall is further complicating operations in Rasuwa and Nuwakot. Authorities warned of moderate rain in affected areas and possible heavy rainfall in parts of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces.
Meteorological authorities recorded 60.2 mm of rain at Nosyam Pati in Sindhupalchok over 12 hours, the highest rainfall recorded during that period.
The adverse weather has slowed efforts to reach workers who may still be alive beneath the debris, while rescue teams are simultaneously clearing blocked roads and relocating families from high-risk areas.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah told Parliament that the disaster highlighted the growing risks facing Himalayan communities as climate change alters conditions in the region.
Shah said experts had linked the Bhotekoshi flash flood to an ice-rock avalanche and called for Nepal to press the international community to recognise the climate-related risks facing mountain nations.
“There is a global contribution behind climate change,” Shah said, arguing that responsibility for reducing its impact must also be shared by the international community.
The government has said it will accept international assistance given the scale of the disaster. India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the US, Australia, Qatar, Switzerland, the UK, Japan and Singapore are among the countries that have provided assistance.
The Asian Development Bank, World Bank, European Union and United Nations have also pledged support, while technical teams from India, China and South Korea are being mobilised to assist with rescue operations at hydropower sites.
With thousands still missing, some families have begun holding symbolic funerals.
Nepal Police said postmortem and legal identification procedures have been completed for 1,113 bodies, while 95 have been handed over to relatives. Details of 911 unidentified bodies have been published online to help families identify missing relatives.
At Pashupati Aryaghat in Kathmandu, dozens of funeral effigies representing missing people were cremated in a mass ceremony on Wednesday.
The disaster has also inflicted major damage on Nepal's infrastructure. Around 400 MW of hydropower capacity has been disrupted, while 40 km of blacktopped roads in the Rasuwa-Nuwakot area have been destroyed and another 16 km damaged. Forty-two suspension bridges and 31 motorable bridges have also been affected.
More than NPR 7 billion has so far been collected in the Prime Minister's Relief Fund as Nepal continues its search for survivors and begins the enormous task of rebuilding communities devastated by the floods.
With PTI inputs