Hundreds missing after Nepal flash flood
Massive flash floods near the Nepal-China border killed at least 98 people and left hundreds missing, including tourists, workers, pilgrims, and dozens of Americans. The flooding destroyed villages, roads, buildings, and hydropower projects as a huge surge of water, mud, rock, and debris swept through the region.
Scores of people were killed Wednesday when flash floods swept through communities along the China-Nepal border. Rescue teams are still trying to locate hundreds more who are still missing in the Himalayan region, including nearly 50 Americans.
Big picture view:
A total of 160 deaths have been reported so far, with Nepalese police confirming 157 people had died, and Chinese state media outlet CCTV reporting at least three deaths and 265 missing in Gyirong County, in Tibet. China’s news agency, however, has reported significant casualties, but did not indicate how many.
Nepalese officials reported 403 people are still missing, 341 of whom were from other nations. A tourism board spokesperson said 47 of them were from the United States, 34 were from Australia, 33 were from Britain, and 24 were from Canada. She noted, as well, that 133 people who came from India on a pilgrimage to Tibet’s Mount Kailash were also unaccounted for.
The U.S. State Department told The Associated Press that it was aware of the Americans affected.
Rescuers use an excavator to transport a flood survivor, following flash floods and a landslide disaster in Devghat, in the Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 26, 2026. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP via Getty Images)
The floodwaters filled the steep valleys that serve as economic lifelines and travel corridors for the region. Images from Nepal’s Nuwakot district showed mud extending as high as the second floor of some buildings there. Debris hung from power lines and tree branches and vehicles sat buried. Survivors could be seen covered in mud.
The United Nations has mobilized its teams to respond to the region to assist with the large-scale humanitarian effort ahead. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached out to Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah to offer assistance and posted that his nation “is prepared to provide Nepal with all possible types of humanitarian assistance.”
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What they’re saying:
“When I reached Dhunge bazaar, in half an hour, the flood came and damaged all the market. People were preparing to go to office then,” resident Shoyam Rajbhandari said. “How many people are missing or dead, we don’t know.”
The backstory:
Experts from the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development noted the warming of the Himalayan region and told The Associated Press that an avalanche from a glacier likely caused the floods.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 5.2 magnitude earthquake centered approximately 40 miles north of Kathmandu.
Last August, a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed, causing flash floods that killed nine people and severely damaged critical infrastructure.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.
