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Nepal-Tibet flash flood: death nears 700; 3,000 missing
Published : Sunday, 30 August, 2026 at 9:21 AM
Observer Online Report
Collected Photo
The death toll from devastating flash floods along the Nepal-China border rose to nearly 700, with around 3,000 people missing as search operations entered their fourth day.
Combined figures from Nepal and China's Tibet Autonomous Region reached 691 dead on Sunday.
Chinese authorities confirmed 16 fatalities and 546 missing individuals. Nepal’s disaster management agency reported 675 deaths and 2,498 people missing.
Challenging terrain and adverse weather obstructed air operations.
In Nuwakot district, military helicopters resumed relief flights before noon on Saturday after weather conditions improved. Helicopters delivered food and clothes while airlifting survivors from devastated zones.
Nepali authorities confirmed that over 3,700 people have been rescued so far. Hundreds of missing individuals are foreign nationals visiting for work, trekking, or pilgrimage.
Nepal issued fresh warnings on Sunday morning regarding rising water levels in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa.
"All personnel engaged in search, rescue, and relief operations, those in riverside areas, and everyone else in affected areas including Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, and Chitwan are requested to exercise caution," the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority stated.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department announced over $3.6 million in emergency humanitarian aid, providing three months of food assistance for up to 10,000 households.
Nepal's government reported that over 100 workers remain trapped inside hydropower tunnels, primarily at the Trishuli 3A and 3B project sites.
Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha stated rescue teams are operating across multiple tunnel locations.
On Saturday, workers cleared mud at Trishuli 3A to pump fresh air inside and deployed cameras to locate survivors. Specialized tunnel-rescue teams from India and China joined Nepali mountain rescue experts at the site.
In Kathmandu, distressed relatives gathered outside the main government hospital, searching notice boards and casualty lists for missing family members. Security officials confirmed families registered around 1,600 missing person reports at the hospital help desk.
Rescuers also remain on high alert over an artificial lake formed by a glacier collapse high in the Himalayas.
Data from China's Ministry of Water Resources indicated the lake's water level dropped by 32 feet from its peak on Thursday.
Scientists confirmed satellite data showed the disaster was triggered by a massive bedrock collapse beneath a glacier.
The collapse registered as a magnitude 5.2 seismic event, sending a torrent of ice, mud, and water through valley settlements downstream.
-SA
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
