A motorcyclist rides through thick mud with flood-damaged houses in the background following deadly flash floods and a mudslide, in Devighat, Nuwakot district, Nepal.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A rescue worker stands near excavators at the core disaster-hit area at Gyirong Port amid rescue efforts following the August 26 mudslide, during an organised media tour in Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Workers instal a cableway to cross Trishuli river at Indrayani Ghat in Bidur in Nuwakot district, Nepal, following deadly flash floods and mudslides, in this handout obtained by Reuters on September 1, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

The death toll from the devastating flash floods in Nepal surged to 1,050 on Tuesday (September 1, 2026), with security forces recovering more bodies from eight districts of the country, officials said. Nearly 4,000 people, including 583 foreigners and 83 security personnel, still remain missing the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said.

Watch | How a school in Nepal saved 900 students from a devastating flash flood

Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah, meanwhile, said that the devastating flood that entered Rasuwa through the Bhotekoshi River bordering Tibet last week was due to climate change. Mr. Shah further said that climate change is a global contribution and disaster response remains a global responsibility.

Nepal disaster, a grim reminder to rethink preparedness | Data

The number of Indian nationals rescued in the wake of the devastating flash floods in Nepal stands at 163, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, as India sustained its relief and rescue efforts in coordination with Nepalese authorities. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also said a 19-member specialised forensics team from India that began functioning in Kathmandu on Sunday (August 30), as well as a tunnel rescue team deployed in Nepal in a statement shared along with the post.

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Five-year-old Ishara Tamang lies in a hospital bed in Kathmandu, injured and separated from her family, after surviving the flash floods that devastated Rasuwa district on the Nepal-Tibet border.

She was rescued from the floodwaters in Khalte, a village in Rasuwa, after being trapped in a net, the Onlinekhabar news portal reported. Ishara told hospital staff: “Mother was swept away. I jumped and moved forward, then got trapped in the net.” The August 26 floods – which travelled downstream through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river system – have left a trail of destruction across northern and central Nepal, with the death toll crossing 700 on Sunday (August 30, 2026), while around 2,500 people are still missing.

Nepal flash floods LIVE updates on August 30, 2026

Families, on Sunday (August 30, 2026), crowded hospitals searching for missing relatives as rescuers continued digging through mud and debris amid intermittent rainfall and renewed concerns over rising river levels.

Ishara was with her mother when the flood struck. The child was swept away, tried to move forward and became trapped in a net before rescuers found her and brought her to safety.

She was not accompanied by a family member at the hospital. When she regained consciousness, she was able to tell medical staff her name and said her father was in Kathmandu. Her mother’s whereabouts remained unknown, the report said.

In another rescue operation at the Timure border town, an Armed Police Force team searching the wreckage of a collapsed security post heard a child’s cries.

The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported that the rescuers dug through the debris and pulled out a six-year-old girl alive.

The team had initially been unable to see anyone beneath the collapsed structure, but heard the child’s crying while searching the site, said the report quoting a senior security official.

The girl was taken to the border outpost in Timure, but bad weather prevented her immediate evacuation to a hospital, the newspaper reported, without sharing her identity.

In another rescue operation, a five-year-old girl rescued alive from beneath rubble two days after the devastating flash floods has been reunited with her parents in a Kathmandu hospital, the BBC reported.

Manisha was found near Syabrubesi in Rasuwa district on Friday (August 28, 2026) after rescuers searching for survivors thought they heard a cat trapped under the debris. A senior official with Nepal’s Armed Police Force told the BBC that rescuers began clearing the rubble and found the girl trapped underneath. It took about two hours to pull her out.

Manisha was barely responsive, and bad weather prevented her immediate evacuation by helicopter. Rescuers took her to a force camp, gave her water and later fed her boiled rice water after she regained consciousness.

She was flown to Kathmandu on Saturday (August 29, 2026) afternoon and admitted to the Teaching Hospital’s paediatric emergency department. On Sunday (August 30, 2026), the hospital said she was recovering. The BBC reported that Manisha has since been reunited with her parents.

At Timure, businessman Nischal Tripathi escaped the flood by running from a building as water and mud surged through the settlement.

According to Onlinekhabar, Mr. Tripathi had been in Timure for about 20 days on business and was on the fifth floor of a building when he felt it shake. He ran downstairs and jumped from around the second floor before reaching the mountainside.

Mr. Tripathi and others then fled into the forest. They spent the night on noodles and biscuits before moving to a goat shed, where around 150 to 200 people gathered along with Nepali Army personnel, Onlinekhabar reported.

Mr. Tripathi told the news portal that his brother, five or six members of his team and seven truck drivers remained out of contact. “Only one or two houses appear to have survived,” he said, describing the destruction.

For Rekha Devi Gosain of Trishuli Bazaar, surviving the flood has meant confronting the loss of her home, livelihood and access to essential medicines.

The Kathmandu Post reported that the flood swept away Ms. Gosain’s home and four shops. Her vehicle, motorcycle and other belongings were also lost, and she was unable to save the medicines she takes for diabetes, high blood pressure and thyroid disease.

Ms. Gosain was among the people staying in the area around Trishuli Hospital after the disaster, according to the newspaper.

Her son Raghubir told the newspaper that she had gone three days without her regular medicines because the hospital did not have them.

The survivors’ stories are unfolding alongside a much larger search for those who remain missing. Over the last few days, families have gathered at hospitals with photographs and other information about missing relatives, checking lists and waiting for news of those who may have survived.

For those pulled from the rubble, swept towards hillsides or stranded overnight in forests, surviving the flood was only the first part of the ordeal. For thousands of families still searching, the wait for news continues.

Published – August 30, 2026 05:43 pm IST

The threat of a lake formed ​after a glacier collapse bursting near the China-Nepal border, where a devastating flood struck earlier this week, has ⁠eased, Chinese authorities said on Saturday (August 29, 2026), as it appears to have shrunk.

Satellite images from Thursday (August 27, 2026) to Saturday (August 29, 2026) morning suggest that water in the lake, which straddles the border between China’s Tibet region and Nepal at the confluence of two rivers, has been slowly flowing out and gradually reducing ‌the reservoir, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing the Water Resources Ministry.

By Saturday afternoon (August 29, 2026), parts of the lake bed had become visible, CCTV reported. The ministry said satellite imagery of the lake on the Purepu Tsangpo River showed it ‌covered 99,000 square metres (1.1 million square feet) early on Saturday (August 29, 2026), roughly the size of 14 soccer pitches, having shrunk by ‌21,000 ⁠square metres since Thursday (August 27, 2026).

A glacier collapse on Wednesday (August 26, 2026) sent a torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris through ⁠Himalayan river systems, sweeping away a border port complex linking Tibet with Nepal, killing hundreds and leaving thousands missing.

Nepal flash floods LIVE

Risks under watch

Experts and authorities have warned of an extremely high risk of secondary disasters in the valley, particularly from the lake formed by glacier debris, which could threaten rescue operations downstream.

With water draining naturally, ​Water Resources Ministry experts said search and rescue operations ‌downstream could continue safely if outflows remain low or manageable and recede completely within two to three days.

Rescue workers could be notified promptly to evacuate if any abnormalities appear at the lake, with warnings issued more than 30 minutes in advance, CCTV cited the experts as saying.

State-owned engineering and rescue company China Anneng, which has been monitoring the lake since Thursday (August 27, 2026), ‌has deployed radar and drones around the lake for 24-hour surveillance, CCTV said.

Initial overflow from the lake on Friday (August 28, 2026) ​temporarily halted rescue work before a subsequent assessment deemed the risks manageable.

Authorities have also flagged another, larger body of water at the foot of the glacier collapse.

“We estimate its area to be over 120,000 square ⁠metres, but its depth is currently unknown,” said Chen Hongqi, a senior engineer at the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Geological Disaster Technical Guidance Center.

Flood risks will remain until both lakes have fully drained, an official with Nepal’s Disaster Management Authority has said.

Looking for survivors

In bleak, ‌rainy conditions on Saturday (August 29, 2026) morning, more than 50 rescue workers combed through rubble of boulders and mud, looking for signs of life and calling out for survivors, CCTV reported.

Danger from above: On the Nepal flood

The first rescue team and a search dog reached the Gyirong border crossing complex on Friday (August 28, 2026) afternoon and found it reduced to ruins.

Dangerous conditions at the main disaster zone, compounded by damaged roads and disrupted communications, continue to hamper Chinese relief efforts, state news agency Xinhua said.

Forecasts show intermittent rain in the area over the next three days.

Authorities are racing to reopen a key highway leading to the border port. By Saturday (August 29, 2026) afternoon, crews had advanced within about 1.5 km (0.93 miles) ‌of the site. China’s death toll rose to seven early on Saturday (August 29, 2026), with 554 people still missing.

Nearly 500 villagers and construction workers, along with 555 tourists ​in the area, have been evacuated, Xinhua said.

Cause still unclear

The cause of the collapse remains unclear, but climate experts say global warming could be a factor. “We’re still not sure whether it was ⁠triggered by an earthquake or … by warm temperatures melting the glacier,” said Benjamin Horton, dean of the School of Energy and Environment at the ⁠City University of Hong Kong.

Videos shared on social media and verified by Reuters show the lower section of the glacier near the Langtang Lirung mountain peak breaking away and plunging into the valley below, triggering an avalanche of ‌ice and rock and a massive landslide. “One of the reasons why we don’t fully understand the mechanisms that cause the landslide is that we have a lack of data. So there has to be this investment in the science; there has to be this investment in society,” Horton said.

Published – August 29, 2026 05:23 pm IST