Nepal Flood Kills 538, Nearly 1,000 Still Missing
News Desk
New York: Nepal’s devastating glacial flood has turned into a major humanitarian emergency, with rescue teams struggling to reach cut-off communities as authorities continue searching for around 1,000 people still missing, many of them believed to be tourists.
The United Nations said 538 bodies had been recovered from the disaster zone following the collapse of a glacier and a landslide near Nepal’s border with China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. Nearly 3,750 people have been rescued, according to figures reported by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The disaster swept through communities, destroying homes and damaging vital infrastructure, including roads and bridges. The extensive destruction has made access to some affected areas extremely difficult for rescue and relief teams.
The impact has extended across the border into Tibet, where Chinese authorities have reported around 560 people missing.
UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal Lila Pieters Yahia, who visited the affected area, said search-and-rescue operations were continuing despite challenging conditions.
Yahia said she witnessed survivors being rescued during her visit, including an entire family. She described the moment as deeply emotional.
Her visit was cut short after a fresh flood warning was issued, highlighting fears that additional flooding could further endanger survivors and hamper relief operations.
Relief teams are working to reach isolated communities in Nepal’s Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts. The UN is providing emergency food rations, tents and logistical assistance, along with medical supplies intended to support about 10,000 people for three months.
The UN is also using satellite imagery to assess the affected areas and help relief agencies identify communities requiring urgent assistance.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has warned that the disaster could create serious public health risks. Displacement, overcrowding and disruptions to clean water, sanitation and healthcare services could increase the spread of infectious diseases, WHO said.
The disaster has also disrupted education for thousands of children. UNICEF said 18 schools had been completely destroyed and another 20 damaged, while dozens of schools located near riverbanks remain at risk.
An estimated 10,000 school-aged children in the affected areas need assistance to continue their education.
Kamal Kishore, head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, described the incident as an exceptionally serious mountain hazard, saying the damage to lives, livelihoods, homes, bridges, hydropower facilities and electricity infrastructure was immense.
He warned that the emergency remained highly uncertain because the disaster was “not yet completely over,” with further hazards still possible.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) also expressed concern over the possibility of a secondary flood. It estimated that at least 93,000 people had been affected and were in urgent need of assistance.
The disaster has renewed concerns about the vulnerability of communities in Nepal’s mountainous regions, where cascading hazards such as glacier collapses, landslides and floods can strike with little warning.
UN officials also stressed the challenges of establishing effective early-warning systems in remote mountain environments, where difficult terrain can make both monitoring and emergency response particularly challenging.
Nepal has faced several major natural disasters in recent years. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake in April 2015 killed more than 8,800 people, while torrential rains last October triggered floods and landslides across eastern and central parts of the country, affecting more than 30,000 people.
