The death toll from Nepal's devastating flash floods has risen to 1,344, while around 5,000 people remain missing, including at least 589 foreign nationals, as rescue and recovery operations continue across the Himalayan nation.
More than 13,100 people have been rescued so far, according to officials. Rescue teams are continuing operations across eight affected districts, while authorities are also working to identify hundreds of recovered remains.
Editorial Insight
Key Highlights
Important points readers should notice.
Issue/Event: Nepal's flash flood death toll rises to 1,344 amid an extensive search for missing people.
Location: Northern and central Nepal, including Nuwakot, Rasuwa and other affected districts.
Authority/Organisation: Nepal Police, Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, NDRRMA and international rescue teams.
Action Taken: Search operations, DNA identification, tunnel rescues and relief operations continue with assistance from India and China.
Impact: Thousands remain missing while widespread destruction of homes, infrastructure, roads and hydropower facilities has created a prolonged humanitarian and recovery challenge.
In one of the most remarkable rescues since the disaster, a 60-year-old woman was found alive after spending 10 days trapped under mud and debris in Bidur town of Nuwakot district. The woman, identified as Chandika Shrestha, was found unconscious by an Armed Police Force team and taken for medical treatment.
The scale of the disaster has created a major challenge for authorities trying to identify the deceased. Many bodies were severely damaged or recovered in parts, making conventional identification difficult. DNA testing is therefore being used to help establish identities and reunite remains with families.
According to officials, 501 sets of partial remains have been recovered but remain unidentified. Nepal Police has also published details of unidentified victims to help families search for information about missing relatives.
Editorial Analysis
Why This Matters
The scale of the disaster has turned the floods into a major humanitarian emergency, with thousands of families still searching for missing relatives. The continuing rescue of survivors, even after 10 days, also shows why search operations remain active despite the rising death toll.
The floods were triggered on August 26 after an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border. The resulting debris flow entered the Bhotekoshi River, carrying huge volumes of water, mud and debris downstream.
The disaster devastated parts of northern and central Nepal, destroying homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging several hydropower projects.
Rescue operations are also continuing at hydropower projects where people were trapped inside tunnels. Teams from India and China are assisting Nepali authorities in some of the most difficult rescue operations. An Indian tunnel rescue team working with the Nepalese Army has created a temporary track inside the Chilime tunnel in Rasuwa to enable heavy rescue equipment to reach affected areas.
A Chinese national was also rescued from a hydropower project tunnel in Rasuwa on Saturday, highlighting the continuing multinational rescue effort.
Authorities are simultaneously monitoring water levels in major rivers as rescue, relief and rehabilitation operations continue.
The disaster has also affected the neighbouring Chinese side of the border. Chinese authorities have reported additional deaths and hundreds of missing people in Tibet following the same wider flood and debris-flow event.
