The death toll due to the flash floods in Nepal rose to 1,377 on Thursday (September 10, 2026) as more bodies were recovered from the affected districts, while rescue and search operations continue for more than 5,000 missing people, authorities said.

At least 364 bodies have been recovered from Chitwan district, 228 from Nawalparasi East, 222 from Nawalparasi West and 198 from Nuwakot, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).

Similarly, 178 bodies have been recovered from Rasuwa, 77 from Gorkha, 70 from Dhading and 38 from Tanahu, it said.

Two flood victims died during treatment in Kathmandu.

The joint command of security personnel has continued search and rescue operations for the missing people, estimated to be 5,130.

Also Read: Nepal flash floods: What caused the devastation?

So far, 13,656 people have been rescued from the flood-affected areas.

The flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal.

The Bhotekoshi River, which flows south from the Himalayan border region, carried the floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects.

The disaster also killed at least 43 people on the Chinese side, while more than 500 people remain missing in Tibet, according to Chinese media reports.

The death toll from the devastating flash floods in Nepal surged to 1,355 on Monday (September 7, 2026) as more bodies were recovered from the affected areas, authorities said.

Rescue teams continued to search for 4,996 people, including at least 589 foreign nationals, who remain missing, while 13,396 people have been rescued so far, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said.

According to NDRRMA, 363 bodies have been recovered from Chitwan district, 221 from Nawalparasi West, 222 from Nawalparasi East and 197 from Nuwakot.

Similarly, 169 bodies were recovered from Rasuwa, 75 from Gorkha, 70 from Dhading and 38 from Tanahu, it said.

The joint command of security forces is actively conducting search and rescue operations.

Major rescue operations are underway at hydropower projects in flood-affected districts, where hundreds of men are believed to be trapped in tunnels. Teams of experts from India and China are assisting their Nepali counterparts in these operations.

The flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal.

The Bhotekoshi River, which flows south from the Himalayan border region, carried the floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects.

The disaster also killed at least 21 people on the Chinese side, while more than 500 people remain missing in Tibet, according to Chinese media reports.

A Chinese national was rescued on Saturday (September 5, 2026) from a hydropower tunnel in Rasuwa, Nepal, while a 60-year-old woman was saved from the upper floor of a four-storey house buried in debris in Betrawati, Nuwakot district.

The man, identified as Luhaitao, was trapped inside Audit Tunnel 4 of the flood-affected Upper Trishuli 1 Hydropower Project.

“A joint rescue team comprising the Nepali Army and foreign rescuers has rescued a Chinese national, Luhaitao, alive from inside a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project,” the Nepali Army said following the rescue on Saturday (September 5, 2026).

“Luhaitao was rescued from a point approximately 225 metres inside the tunnel. His health is currently being assessed, while search and rescue operations are continuing.” Luhaitao was rescued at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday (September 5, 2026) from the site in Nuwakot district.

The latest rescue brings the total to three workers pulled alive from the Trishuli hydropower project. Two Nepalese workers were rescued from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant on Friday (September 4, 2026).

Meanwhile, 60-year-old woman Chandika Shrestha was found unconscious and rescued from the house in Bidur Municipality-10, The Kathmandu Post reported on Saturday (September 5, 2026).

Following her rescue by a nine-member Armed Police Force team, Shrestha was flown by helicopter to the Nepali Army’s Maithili Barracks in Trishuli for initial treatment. She would be brought to Kathmandu for further treatment if necessary, the Nepal PM’s office was quoted as saying in the report.

The death toll from the devastating flash floods in Nepal rose to 1,344 on Saturday (September 5, 2026) as more bodies were recovered from the affected districts, police said. Rescue teams continued to search for around 4,900 people who remain missing.

To facilitate the identification of mortal remains of Nepal flood victims, the Centre will make available the services of central and state-level forensic labs for DNA profiling of their first-degree biological relatives in India, the MEA has said.

Nepal flash floods aftermath LIVE: Two trapped workers rescued alive from a tunnel in Nepal

First-degree biological relatives residing in India — father, mother, son, daughter or sibling — may have their biological samples collected and DNA profiles prepared at Central Forensic Science Laboratories (CFSLs); State Forensic Science Laboratories (SFSLs); laboratories of the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU); and NABL-accredited laboratories having DNA profiling capability, the ministry said in a statement.

The death toll from last week’s flash floods in Nepal has risen to at least 1,259 after rescue workers recovered more bodies from affected areas, according to Nepalese authorities.

While emergency teams have rescued more than 12,000 people, roughly 5,000 remain missing as search and rescue operations continue.

In a press statement on Tuesday (September 1, 2026), the Embassy of India in Kathmandu outlined the information available regarding the procedures for identification of mortal remains of the August 26 flash flood victims, the MEA said.

In this backdrop, and as an additional measure to facilitate the ongoing identification process, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to make available the services of CFSLs, SFSLs and NFSU laboratories in India for “DNA profiling of first-degree biological relatives of persons who remain missing following the flash flood in Nepal”, it said.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also shared a list of government forensic science laboratories having DNA profiling facilities.

“As advised by the Nepal Police, Autosomal STR DNA profiling may be undertaken for the purpose of identification, subject to the technical requirements communicated by the Nepali authorities. The helpline number in this regard is: +977 9841 6160 95,” it said.

Once prepared, the DNA profiles, along with the preliminary information required by the Nepali authorities, may be sent by email — dnacodis@nepalpolice.gov.np — for comparison with DNA profiles obtained from unidentified mortal remains, the statement said.

For facilitation and coordination by the Embassy of India, Kathmandu, a copy of the DNA profile may also be sent to eoikathmandufloodsupport@gmail.com, it said.

The flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal, leaving a trail of destruction.

A devastating glacial collapse in Nepal that unleashed deadly floods was a “warning signal” over the growing risks climate change poses to the Himalayan nation, its foreign minister told AFP on Tuesday.

“We believe that this disaster should be seen as a warning signal to the risk that climate change poses to Nepal,” Shisir Khanal said in an interview with AFP nearly a week since the tsunami-like wave of freezing water, rocks and debris carved a trail of destruction.

More than 1,000 bodies have been recovered, and nearly 4,500 people are missing in Nepal as well as across the Chinese border in Tibet.

Mr. Khanal invited international support based on climate justice rather than charity, noting that his largely rural nation of 30 million people contributes a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions compared to industrialised nations.

“We call upon the international community to take the changing climate in the Himalayas in an urgent light,” he said.

“The support to Nepal should not be just seen from an angle of aid or charity, but should be seen from a perspective of climate justice as well.”

The disaster has affected people’s lives but also public infrastructure, the minister said, underlining the need for long-term support to help Nepal adapt to and mitigate the growing challenges of climate change.

While the exact cause of the glacial collapse is unclear, climate change is causing glaciers to melt worldwide, increasing the risk of such disasters.

Scientists say the Himalayas, the world’s highest mountain range, are melting faster as global temperatures rise.

“We have to seek not just the preservation of mountains, but also seek support for adaptation and mitigation of the challenges that climate change is bringing to Nepal — and this region as well,” he said.

“In the longer term, it will have even further impact downstream, in the entire South Asia, as the ice melts.”

Identification number tags are seen on the bodies of flash flood victims as Nepalese police personnel carry out a mass burial in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 1, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
AP

‘Resilient nation’

Glaciers in the wider Himalayan and Hindu Kush ranges are a crucial water source for around 240 million people in the mountainous regions, as well as for another 1.65 billion people in the South Asian and Southeast Asian river valleys below.

“It impacts the entirety of Himalayan region’s civilisation,” Mr. Khanal said.

“We are a downstream community for China, and an upstream community of India, and the Himalayan rivers impact all of us,” he added.

The glacial collapse has highlighted the need to speed up data sharing mechanisms to alert of any similar catastrophes, said the Minister.

“Since the disaster, China has shared a lot of data, especially for this region where this particular disaster occurred,” he said.

“This disaster does give more impetus and urgency to us to build the mechanism in a much significantly faster timeline.”

While Nepal is now in mourning, Mr. Khanal said people should still come to visit. “We’re in a moment of sorrow and grief,” he said. “But this is very resilient nation… Nepal still remains open.”

Poor weather hampered aerial rescue operations in Nepal on Saturday (August 29, 2026) as the search for hundreds of missing people in areas devastated by catastrophic flash floods along the border with China entered its fourth day.

Rescue workers and military personnel have been working around the clock since Wednesday’s (August 26, 2026) disaster, which killed nearly 600 people and left almost 2,500 missing. Some survivors have been pulled from the mud, while crews continue searching several locations for those still missing.

But Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet, a Nepali Army spokesperson, said on Saturday (August 29, 2026) that helicopter operations were on hold until weather conditions improved.

Search and rescue efforts continued at several locations in Nepal and China’s Tibet, including the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Nepal’s Rasuwa district and the severely damaged Gyirong border crossing on the Chinese side.

The floods have killed 616 in Nepal, according to the police on Saturday (August 29, 2026). Chinese state media had earlier confirmed seven dead, taking the total killed to at least 623 dead.

The number of missing soared past 2,400 on Friday (August 28, 2026) as emergency teams said they had recovered 623 bodies — with some of the dead possibly swept downstream as far away as India.

Nepali Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet said rescue efforts would continue at the hydropower construction site, where authorities believe more than 100 people are trapped in a tunnel filled with thick mud.

Gen. Basnet said rescuers had used baskets and ropes to reach some people, but the operation remained difficult because of 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters) of mud and the limited number of places where helicopters could land.

He said rescue teams had also been forced to relocate temporarily when authorities issued warnings about possible further flooding.

Rescuers have been on high alert for more flooding from a new lake that formed high up in the Himalayan mountains after the initial floods Wednesday. Experts warned that the lake, created after a glacier collapse that triggered the floods, was starting to overflow.

Monitoring data from the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources showed late Friday (August 28, 2026) that the lake had dwindled in size. The water level dropped by 10 meters (32 feet) from the high point on Thursday (August 25, 2026) morning, Chinese broadcaster CCTV said.

The broadcaster was showing Saturday images of rescuers getting to Gyirong Port, the hard-hit border crossing with Nepal. Some reached the area by foot and via rafts. Some were dropped down from drones flown to the area. “Anyone, anyone?” rescuers yelled, according to footage by the broadcaster.

It was not immediately known how many people were at the border checkpoint building when the floods hit.

More than 3,700 people have been rescued in Nepal so far. Hundreds of the missing are foreigners who were in the area to work, trek or make a pilgrimage to a sacred peak.