Deadly Bhotekoshi flash flood sweeps through northern Nepal

FLASH FLOODS

Date: 2026-08-28
Status: SEARCH AND RESCUE ONGOING · 1,344 BODIES RECOVERED · ~5,000 MISSING
Aid Zone: ASIA
Countries: Nepal
Agency: Government of Nepal / Nepal Red Cross
Last verified: 2026-09-05T14:00:00+05:45

Situation

Search, recovery and relief operations continued on 5 September, the eleventh day after the 26 August flash flood devastated settlements and infrastructure across Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and downstream districts. Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that 1,344 bodies had been recovered, around 5,000 people remained missing and 13,098 people had been rescued. Four people were rescued alive from tunnels and a house on 4 and 5 September, including two Nepali nationals, one Chinese national and one American national. International tunnel-rescue teams continued work alongside Nepal's security agencies at affected hydropower projects. A Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment found approximately 7,570 houses affecting around 32,933 people, 48 government offices, 55 kilometres of roads, 37 motorable bridges and 68 suspension bridges damaged. The assessment also recorded about 1,806 hectares of agricultural land, 13 hydropower projects, one solar plant and two transmission lines affected, including 783 MW of hydropower capacity. The International Red Cross's earlier estimate of at least 93,000 people affected remains a broader response-area figure and should not be treated as directly comparable with the narrower housing assessment. UNICEF reported that at least 22,000 children urgently needed safe-water, sanitation and hygiene support and had dispatched WASH supplies for around 19,000 people in Rasuwa and Nuwakot. Earlier assessments recorded 279 injured and approximately 1,200 displaced; no newer directly comparable totals had been published by the 5 September update.

Why glaciers are a growing concern: The exact sequence that triggered this disaster remains under investigation, so glacier change should not be presented as the sole confirmed cause. However, WMO and ICIMOD warn that rising temperatures are changing glaciers, snow, permafrost and high-mountain slopes across the Hindu Kush Himalaya. Meltwater lakes can form or expand on and beside glaciers, while thawing frozen ground can destabilise rock and ice. Avalanches or slope failures can then displace lake water or create temporary dams, producing sudden floods that gather debris and become more destructive downstream. The transboundary Poiqu–Bhote Koshi–Sun Koshi basin is already recognised as highly exposed to glacial-lake outburst floods. Scientists therefore stress the need for satellite monitoring, cross-border data exchange, downstream warning systems and evacuation planning. WMO reports more than 25,000 mapped glacial lakes across the wider Hindu Kush Himalaya and projects that regional glacial-lake outburst flood risk could triple by the end of this century. All human-impact totals remain provisional and may change as identification, access and missing-person reconciliation improve.

Verified figures

People affected: At least 93,000 · International Red Cross estimate
Affected estimate scope: Nepal response area; wider Tibet impacts are not included
Children affected: At least 17,000
Children reported among fatalities by UNICEF: At least 14
UNICEF emergency appeal: USD 17.2 million
Schools completely destroyed: 18
Schools damaged: 20
School-age children requiring urgent education support: Approximately 10,000
Health facilities severely damaged: At least 4
Households estimated to require immediate relief: 10,000
People planned for initial WFP food support: 10,000
People reached through government relief distribution: 3,696 through 27 distribution centres
Countries reported providing response support: At least 8
WFP emergency food dispatched: 2.4 metric tonnes
Immediate WFP funding requirement: USD 4 million
Initial BP-5 dispatch: 400 kg for 100 households for 48 hours
Additional BP-5 dispatch: 2 metric tonnes for nearly 2,700 people
WFP logistics trucks deployed: 5
Generators dispatched: 2
Power banks dispatched: 50
Women among first 95 confirmed deaths: 27
Men among first 95 confirmed deaths: 37
Girls among first 95 confirmed deaths: 6
Boys among first 95 confirmed deaths: 5
Unidentified among first 95 confirmed deaths: 20
Missing persons: Around 5,000 in Nepal (Government of Nepal, 5 September 2026; provisional)
Hydropower workers unaccounted for: At least 900 across 12 damaged projects
Workers believed trapped in tunnels: Approximately 500
Upper Trishuli-1 workers missing: At least 576, including around 300 believed trapped in a tunnel
Bodies recovered from hydropower tunnels: 4 from 3 tunnels
Tourists reported out of contact: 320 still missing; 261 rescued by 29 August
Foreign tourists reported out of contact: 589 foreign nationals included in the 9am missing-person list
Nepali tourists reported out of contact: 114
Foreign nationals reported missing: Agency totals differ; reconciliation ongoing
Nepali tourists reported missing: 113 (latest NEOC breakdown)
Indian travellers reported missing: 178 (latest tourism breakdown)
United States travellers reported missing: >60 (latest tourism breakdown)
Australian travellers reported missing: 34 (provisional)
United Kingdom travellers reported missing: 33 (provisional)
Canadian travellers reported missing: 24 (provisional)
South Korean hydropower workers reported missing: 9 (provisional)
Deaths reported across Nepal and Tibet: At least 1,360 · 1,344 bodies recovered in Nepal and 16 deaths previously reported in Tibet
People reported missing in Tibet: 546 (provisional)
People displaced in Nepal: Approximately 1,200 from at least three villages
Malaysian nationals reported out of contact: 11
Police officials reported missing: 27
Nepali Army personnel reported missing: 45
Armed Police Force personnel reported missing: 13
Security personnel reported missing: 85 total
Rasuwa residents reported missing: 161
Nuwakot residents reported missing: 1
Affected settlements reported in Rasuwa: Around 12
Hydropower and solar capacity reportedly affected: Earlier estimate: approximately 748 MW
People rescued: 13,098 in Nepal
People rescued alive on 4–5 September: 4
Houses affected in rapid assessment: Approximately 7,570, affecting around 32,933 people
Government offices affected: 48
Roads damaged: 55 km
Motorable bridges damaged: 37
Suspension bridges damaged: 68
Agricultural land affected: Approximately 1,806 hectares
Hydropower projects affected: 13
Hydropower generation capacity affected: 783 MW
Children requiring urgent WASH support: At least 22,000
People covered by dispatched UNICEF WASH supplies: Around 19,000
People injured: 279
Security personnel mobilised: 20,819
Hydropower personnel out of contact: 60
Rescued survivors receiving treatment: 63
Helicopters deployed: 12
Rescue helicopter flights reported: 411 sorties
Bridges reported damaged: Earlier assessment: at least 19
Suspension bridges reported destroyed: Earlier assessment: 45
Second Indian relief consignment: 37.5 tonnes of food and medical supplies
Road reported damaged: Around 40 km
Road section washed away: 18 km between Syaphrubesi and Rasuwagadhi
Hydropower and solar projects reportedly affected: 14
Downstream districts under evacuation alerts: Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan
Vehicles reportedly swept away: >300
Maximum observed river rise: 9 metres in approximately 30 minutes
Flood-wave height reported by IFRC: Approximately 8–10 metres in some locations
Houses reportedly swept away: Approximately 60
Primary affected rivers: Bhotekoshi, Lhende Khola, Trishuli and Narayani
Secondary flood hazard: Expanding barrier lake with possible dam-failure risk · 28 August
Impact status: Rapidly evolving; official verification continuing

Provenance

This page renders the last verified WorldsAid cache directly in HTML. It does not treat generated summaries as primary evidence.

Cached dataset: worldsai_drup771.sql.gz

Open the interactive WorldsAid view →