Highlights:
- 1,252 people have died
- 4,216 remain missing
- Families perform symbolic funeral rites
- 1,500 Nepalese remain stranded in Tibet
- Glaciers face growing instability
Eight days after devastating flash floods swept through northern and central Nepal, families are beginning to perform symbolic funeral rites for relatives who remain missing, as hopes of finding them alive continue to fade.
The death toll from the disaster has risen to 1,252, while 4,216 people remain missing, according to figures released by Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).
The floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, devastated towns and villages and left a trail of destruction across the country.
For families in the worst-hit communities, the absence of information has become an agonising reality. In Paharebesi village in Rasuwa district, residents have begun preparing to perform funeral rites for relatives they have not heard from for eight days, according to Nepalese media reports.
In other flood-hit areas, families have begun using effigies made from kusha grass to carry out the final rites of relatives who remain untraced.
The symbolic funerals are being performed as families face diminishing hopes of finding their loved ones and increasing difficulties in recovering and identifying bodies.
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Families face an agonising wait
The scale of the disaster has made the search increasingly difficult.
According to NDRRMA, 355 bodies have been recovered from Chitawan, 218 from Nawalparasi East and 208 from Nawalparasi West, including 18 bodies recovered from India and handed over to Nawalparasi West.
A further 177 bodies have been recovered from Nuwakot, 127 from Rasuwa, 69 from Gorkha, 60 from Dhading and 38 from Tanahu.
On the Chinese side of the border, the flash floods that struck Gyirong county in Tibet have also caused significant loss of life. The death toll there had risen to 21, with another 541 people missing as of Wednesday (2).
The danger has not completely passed.
Rain continued in the upstream areas of the Bhotekoshi River on Thursday, raising the possibility of rising water levels in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, as well as smaller rivers and streams flowing through Rasuwa and Nuwakot.
Saraswati Bishta, a technician at the Flood Forecasting Division of Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, urged people living near the rivers and downstream areas to remain vigilant.
A medium-level flash-flood risk has also been identified in rivers across a number of districts, particularly in Nepal’s hilly regions, including Taplejung, Panchthar, Terhathum, Dhankuta, Sankhuwasabha, Okhaldhunga, Udaypur, Chitawan, Gorkha, Tanahu, Lamjung, Manang, Mustang, Myagdi, Kaski, Syangja, Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.
Nepal army and police personnel prepare to bury the bodies of flood victims during a mass burial on September 01, 2026 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The floods, triggered by a glacier collapse on Langtang Lirung on August 26, have killed at least 900 people and left nearly 4,000 missing in Nepal as of September 1, with additional deaths and hundreds missing in neighbouring Tibet, authorities have said.Getty Images
Thousands remain stranded or missing
Rescue and recovery operations have continued into their ninth day, with joint teams led by the Nepal Army searching for survivors and missing people.
The floods have dramatically changed the landscape of Rasuwa and Nuwakot. According to The Kathmandu Post, helicopter pilots have been relying heavily on their own judgement and discipline while navigating the steep terrain, as riverbanks and familiar landmarks have disappeared.
The disaster has also left thousands of Nepalese nationals stranded in Tibet.
Nepalese foreign ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri said around 100 Nepalese nationals remain missing in Tibet following the floods.
Around 3,000 Nepalese nationals who had travelled to Tibet for pilgrimage and business were stranded there. More than 2,500 have safely returned to Nepal through the Hilsa and Tatopani border points, while some also returned by air.
However, around 1,500 Nepalese nationals remain stranded at the Kerung border point in Tibet. Officials from Nepal and China are holding consultations over ways to evacuate them safely.
Meanwhile, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal described the devastating floods as a “Himalayan Tsunami”, while thanking neighbouring countries and the international community for their support and solidarity.
His comments came days after he said in a television interview that China, the US and India are the world’s three largest greenhouse gas emitters and have a “historical responsibility to compensate vulnerable nations like Nepal”.
Khanal said Nepal would continue close cooperation and collaboration with the international community.
People gather to take part in a candle ligh vigil to pay tribute to pray for the eternal peace of those who lost their lives in the flood during floods and the speedy recovery for the injured on September 03, 2026 at Buddha Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal. The floods, triggered by a glacier collapse on Langtang Lirung on August 26, have killed at least 900 people and left nearly 4,000 missing in Nepal as of September 1, with additional deaths and hundreds missing in neighbouring Tibet, authorities have said. Getty Images
Children help as climate warning grows
As international and domestic assistance continues to reach affected communities, Nepalese schoolchildren have also joined relief efforts.
Children from schools across the country have been voluntarily donating part of their snack money or pocket money to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund to support people affected by the floods.
But alongside the immediate humanitarian crisis, the disaster has raised wider concerns about the future of the Himalayan region.
A senior Chinese climate official has warned that glaciers across the Tibetan Plateau are likely to become increasingly unstable, potentially resulting in further collapses and disasters similar to the deadly flash floods along the Tibet-Nepal border.
Gao Rong, deputy director of China’s National Climate Centre, said that over the past 60 years, the glacier area on the Tibetan Plateau had shrunk by around 24 per cent, with approximately 7,000 small glaciers disappearing completely.
“Over the past 60 years, the glacier area on the Tibetan Plateau has shrunk by around 24 per cent, with around 7,000 small glaciers disappearing completely,” Gao said.
He warned that the structural stability of glaciers across the Tibetan Plateau is likely to decline further.
“Looking ahead, the structural stability of glaciers across the Tibetan Plateau will decline further. Glacial disasters are likely to become more frequent and could amplify in destruction and reach through cascading effects,” Gao was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post.
For the families still waiting, however, the immediate crisis remains deeply personal. Eight days without news has left many facing an unbearable choice: continue hoping for a miracle, or perform a symbolic farewell to someone whose body may never come home.
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