The death toll from the catastrophic flash floods that devastated parts of Nepal and Tibet has surpassed 1,252, with thousands still missing as massive search and rescue operations continue.
According to the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), 4,216 people remain unaccounted and only 95 of the recovered bodies have so far been identified and turned over to their families.
The disaster was triggered on August 26, when a glacier in Nepal’s Langtang region fractured at high altitude, sending an avalanche of ice, rocks and mud into downstream valleys and triggering devastating flash floods.
Some of the hardest-hit areas include Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Chitwan, where homes, roads and bridges were swept away or buried under massive amounts of debris.
More than 7,000 houses were reportedly destroyed, leaving thousands of survivors displaced.
Among those still missing are nearly 900 workers from hydropower projects, many of whom are believed to be trapped inside tunnels buried by mud and debris.
Rescue teams continue to clear the entrances of the tunnels, with authorities still hoping to find survivors.
The humanitarian crisis has also taken an emotional toll on families.
In Kathmandu, relatives have begun holding symbolic funeral rites using sacred grass effigies for loved ones whose bodies have not been recovered.
A so-called “wall of the missing” at a hospital in the capital has also been filled with photographs and information from families desperately searching for their relatives.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Tibet, Chinese authorities reported 21 deaths and 541 people still missing, bringing the combined number of fatalities in Nepal and Tibet to at least 1,273.
Rescue operations remain underway, but damaged roads, disrupted communications and the enormous volume of mud and debris continue to hamper efforts to reach isolated communities.
Authorities and international experts have also warned that the disaster highlights the growing risks faced by Himalayan communities as climate change contributes to glacier instability and increases the threat of sudden floods and other extreme events.
