Nepal-Tibet Floods Kill 586, More Than 2,400 Still Missing

A woman carrying her child walks along a road deluged in sludge after flash floods at Devighat in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 28, 2026.

Rescuers in Nepal and China were continuing efforts on Saturday to locate more than 2,400 people missing after a deadly, tsunami-like surge of water and debris swept through the Himalayan region, engulfing villages and destroying infrastructure.

Emergency teams have recovered 586 bodies, with some victims reportedly swept downstream into India. Nepal's disaster authority said the missing list had also been expanded to include 933 hydropower workers, along with trekkers and pilgrims travelling to Tibet's sacred Mount Kailash.

Survivors described widespread devastation, saying entire settlements near rivers had been swept away.

“All the settlements near the river were swept away. There is nothing left,” survivor Buddhi Ram Dangol said.

The disaster has caused enormous trauma, with as many as 93,000 people potentially affected, according to the Red Cross. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue teams reach remote areas.

Emergency operations have been complicated by fears of further flooding. Nepali police urged rescuers to move to safer locations after receiving reports that a water dam had burst again on the Tibetan side.

Chinese authorities temporarily suspended rescue operations in the hardest-hit area of Gyirong because of the risk of renewed flooding, although the threat later eased. State media reported that two villagers were rescued there early Saturday.

On the Nepali side, the military was working to rescue people trapped inside tunnels at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project. Around 350 workers and residents had been brought to safety, while more than 100 people remained trapped in the area.

Nepal's disaster authority reported 1,924 people, including 517 foreigners, out of contact in the country. India has recovered seven bodies from rivers flowing from Nepal, believed to be victims of the floods.

In Tibet, seven people were reported dead and 554 remained missing, while authorities evacuated hundreds of stranded tourists and Chinese residents.

The disaster has also affected pilgrims travelling to Mount Kailash, with scores of Hindu devotees among those reported missing.