The Bhotekoshi in flood through Rasuwa district, Nepal
Photograph: ICIMOD

Day 8 Checking for new reports…

Rasuwa flood, live

A flash flood came down the Bhotekoshi from Tibet into Rasuwa on 26 August 2026. Here is what is confirmed, what is still unknown, and who to call.

1,294confirmed dead
8,898listed missing in Nepal
12,038rescued so far

Khabarhub, 4 September 2026, 10:05 pm NPT. Every figure and where it came from

Call 100

Latest updates

Updated 4 Sep 2026 · 10:05 pm NPT
  1. Latest reported figures: 1,294 confirmed dead

    The confirmed death toll in Nepal has risen to 1,294, from 1,290, Onlinekhabar reports. The number of people listed missing has risen to 8,898, from…

  2. सुरुङबाट १० दिनपछि निकालिएका साहको स्वास्थ्य अवस्था सामान्य

    १९ भदौ, काठमाडौं । त्रिशूली थ्री 'ए'को सुरुङबाट जीवित्तै उद्धार गरिएका सञ्जय साहको स्वास्थ्य अवस्था सामान्य रहेको पाइएको छ । उद्धार गरिपछि नेपाली सेनाले…

  3. Minister Rawal for carrying out exemplary works in post-disaster recovery as well

    NUWAKOT: Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration, Pratibha Rawal, has underscored on carrying out exemplary…

  4. Latest reported figures: 1,259 confirmed dead

    The confirmed death toll in Nepal has risen to 1,259, from 1,252, Nepalnews reports. The number of people listed missing has risen to 5,083, from 4,875,…

  5. Missing flood victims’ families called for DNA testing

    September 3, Kathmandu Nepal Police has begun a DNA testing process to search for citizens who went missing in the Bhotekoshi River flood in Rasuwa, and…

Every update, newest first

Story of the day

Each story of the day, short and checked. Tap a card to read it all.

4 September 2026, 10:05 pm NPT updated

Latest reported figures: 1,294 confirmed dead

The confirmed death toll in Nepal has risen to 1,294, from 1,290, Onlinekhabar reports. The number of people listed missing has risen to 8,898, from 5,083, Khabarhub reports.

Where a report describes one district or one stretch of river rather than the national figure, it is not used here. Out of contact does not mean dead.

Photograph: Nepal News

Full briefing

4 September 2026, 10:21 am NPT

सुरुङबाट १० दिनपछि निकालिएका साहको स्वास्थ्य अवस्था सामान्य

१९ भदौ, काठमाडौं । त्रिशूली थ्री 'ए'को सुरुङबाट जीवित्तै उद्धार गरिएका सञ्जय साहको स्वास्थ्य अवस्था सामान्य रहेको पाइएको छ । उद्धार गरिपछि नेपाली सेनाले उनको स्वास्थ्य जाँच गराउँदा सामान्य रहेको देखिएको हो ।

Photograph: Online Khabar

Full briefing

3 September 2026, 10:21 pm NPT updated

Latest reported figures: 1,259 confirmed dead

The confirmed death toll in Nepal has risen to 1,259, from 1,252, Nepalnews reports. The number of people listed missing has risen to 5,083, from 4,875, Nepalnews reports. The number of people rescued has risen to 12,038, from 11,993, Nepalnews reports.

Where a report describes one district or one stretch of river rather than the national figure, it is not used here. Out of contact does not mean dead.

Photograph: Nepal News

Sources: Nepalnews
Full briefing

Updated 4 September 2026, 10:05 pm NPT

Read every briefing in the archive

01. Confirmed

Confirmed dead, and where

Confirmed deaths only, both sides of the border. Tap a row for the breakdown.

Where the numbers stand

checking…Sources checked just now

Rasuwa flash flood, 26 August 2026 · as of 4 September 2026, 10:05 pm NPT · Khabarhub

Tap any number to see where it comes from. Early counts move. Where sources disagree, the lower confirmed figure is shown.

In danger right now? Tap to call.

Latest updates

Watch what happened

Nepal1,294

The flood started in Rasuwa, but the water carried people far downstream. 8,898 people are still listed missing. A district here is where a body was found, not where the person was from.

DistrictBodies recovered
Chitwan360
Nawalparasi East222
Nawalparasi West215
Nuwakot192
Rasuwa156
Gorkha73
Dhading67
Tanahun38

Nepal Police bulletin, 4 September 2026, 8:00 pm NPT, totalling 1,323, which is the same total the bulletin itself states. The headline figure above is lower, at 1,294: it takes the newest national total any source has published, and this police bulletin counts 29 more.

China (Tibet side) 3

Three deaths confirmed near Gyirong (Kyirong) county, just over the border from Rasuwagadhi, where the dry port and customs area were hit. China has said it is reviewing its own flood monitoring for the Kyirong valley.

Other countries 0

No deaths of foreign nationals have been confirmed. Syabrubesi is the gateway to the Langtang trek, so trekker whereabouts are being checked through the Tourist Police (1144) and trekking operators.

Updated as new figures are confirmed. Where two sources disagree, the lower confirmed number is shown.

02. Timeline

What happened

Pieced together from police, local officials, and news reports. Times are approximate.

08:37 NPT

Seismic stations picked up a signal near the border. The US Geological Survey first called it a magnitude 4.4 earthquake, then revised it: the signal was a magnitude 5.2 glacial collapse, not a quake.

~09:00 NPT

The Bhotekoshi River suddenly rose at the border. It wasn't raining nearby, so plain rain wasn't the cause.

Morning

Timure and Syabrubesi, two border towns, were hit hardest. Nine bank branches were swept away. The local helipad was destroyed, which slowed rescue by air.

Same day

The flood reached towns further downstream: Betrawati and Trishuli Bazar, Galchhi and Dhunge Bazaar, then past Muglin into the Narayani. 14 hydropower projects were damaged.

Ongoing

Nepal's Army, Police, and Armed Police are searching for survivors with helicopters. China has confirmed deaths on its side too.

Damage and rescue, official numbers

The same figures as the counters at the top of this page, from the same file, so the two cannot disagree. Last moved 4 September 2026, 10:05 pm NPT, from Khabarhub.

FigureCountWhat the source said
confirmed dead1,294Onlinekhabar: 1,294. Up from 1,290.
listed missing in Nepal8,898Khabarhub: 8,898. Up from 5,083.
missing on the China side546Xinhua reports 546 people missing around Gyirong Port in Xizang (Tibet) as of 6pm Saturday, including 261 foreign nationals. Combined with Nepal's 2,502-person list that is 3,048 people unaccounted for across both countries, although the two countries' counts may overlap.
rescued so far12,038Nepalnews: 12,038. Up from 11,993.
hydropower projects damaged14The Nepal Electricity Authority reports 14 projects damaged with a combined capacity of about 748 MW: 9 operating plants (354 MW) and 5 under construction (394 MW). Named ones include Rasuwagadhi, Chilime, Sanjen Khola, Upper Trishuli-1, Trishuli and Devighat, plus a 220 kV substation. An earlier same-day Ministry of Energy estimate said 431 MW.
damage, early estimateRs 200bnPhysical Infrastructure Minister Sunil Lamsal put damage to roads and bridges at about Rs 200 billion on 26 August, and called it preliminary. Hydropower and private property are not in that figure. The whole 42 km road from Betrawati to the Rasuwagadhi border crossing was destroyed at multiple points.
relief fund depositedRs 5.04bnPrime Minister Balen Shah said Rs 5.04 billion had been deposited in nine commercial bank accounts for flood rescue and relief, Onlinekhabar reported at 9:04pm Saturday. The same report said another US$1.8 million was deposited at Himalayan Bank and Laxmi Bank. This is money deposited in the fund, not the separate Rs 1 billion released by the government.

Search and rescue is still running, so every number here can change. Tap any counter at the top of the page for the sentence it came from.

03. Cause

What may have caused it

No government has confirmed the cause yet. It was not raining nearby, so ordinary rain is ruled out. Best current read, from experts reviewing satellite images:

  1. Leading explanation

    Ice and rock fell into a mountain stream and dammed it

    Nepal's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology and independent glaciologists, using satellite images shared through ICIMOD, say an ice-and-rock avalanche blocked the Lhende Khola about 20 km upstream of the Miteri Bridge. That made a temporary lake behind the debris, which then burst. They call it preliminary.

  2. Also possible

    A glacial lake burst

    A lake of meltwater held back by ice can break free on its own, with no rain. Over 20 lakes in Nepal are rated dangerous, and many more sit unmonitored across the border.

  3. Ruled out

    It was not an earthquake

    The US Geological Survey first logged a magnitude 4.4 earthquake at 08:37, minutes before the water rose. It has since revised that: the signal was a magnitude 5.2 glacial collapse, not a tectonic quake. The tremor was the collapse being recorded, not a separate trigger.

See the source area: photos and satellite map

The Lende Khola (Lhende) valley in Kyirong county, Tibet, upstream of Rasuwagadhi. Photos are openly licensed, pulled live from Wikimedia Commons with credit.

Map centred near the suspected landslide site, about 20 km north of the border inside Tibet. Exact coordinates are approximate, from published reporting.

04. Questions

Common questions about the Nepal flood

The things people are searching for most, answered short.

What happened in Rasuwa, Nepal?

On the morning of 26 August 2026 a flash flood came down the Bhote Koshi river from the Tibet side of the border into Rasuwa district. Timure, Syabrubesi, the Rasuwagadhi border crossing and around a dozen riverside settlements took the heaviest impact, and the water carried on down the Trishuli into the Narayani. The Nepal Electricity Authority reports 14 hydropower projects damaged, about 748 MW.

What caused the Nepal flood of August 2026?

No government has confirmed a cause. The leading explanation, from Nepal's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology and independent glaciologists working with satellite imagery shared through ICIMOD, is an ice-and-rock avalanche that blocked the Lhende Khola inside Tibet about 20 km upstream of the Miteri Bridge, forming a temporary debris-dammed lake that then burst. The US Geological Survey has reassessed the tremor recorded minutes earlier as a magnitude 5.2 glacial collapse, not an earthquake. Heavy local rainfall in Rasuwa is ruled out. Full explanation.

Which districts of Nepal were affected?

Rasuwa took the first and heaviest impact, especially Timure, Syabrubesi and the Rasuwagadhi border crossing. The surge then moved through Betrawati and Trishuli Bazar in Nuwakot, Galchhi and Dhunge Bazaar in Dhading, and past Muglin into the Narayani. Bodies have been recovered in Chitwan, Nawalparasi East and West, Gorkha and Tanahun as well. Three deaths are confirmed on the Chinese side near Gyirong.

Is Kathmandu affected?

Kathmandu itself was not flooded. The damage runs along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river valleys in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, north-west of the capital. Road links to the Chinese border through Rasuwagadhi have been badly disrupted.

What are the emergency numbers in Nepal?

Nepal Police 100, ambulance 102, fire brigade 101, traffic police 103, and 112 from any mobile phone. The National Emergency Operation Centre disaster hotline is 1149, the Nepal Police toll-free helpline is 1155, and Tourist Police is 1144. All of them are tap-to-dial on the Emergency tab.

How can I donate to Nepal flood relief?

The Government of Nepal's own channel is the Prime Minister's Natural Disaster Relief Fund, run by the Office of the Prime Minister. Bank account details and the official QR code are on the Help tab. Be careful of fake appeals, which appear within hours of any disaster.

Is it safe to travel to Langtang or Syabrubesi now?

Syabrubesi is the main gateway to Langtang trekking and was directly hit, including the loss of its helipad. Roads along the river valley have been damaged. Check with Nepal Police, the Tourist Police on 1144, and your trekking operator before travelling.