2026 Nepal floods
Flash flood disaster in Nepal and China
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On the morning of 26 August 2026, a series of flash floods destroyed the Gyirong Port customs and immigration checkpoint on the China–Nepal border and struck dozens of settlements along a 72 km (45 mi)[7] stretch of the Trishuli River[c] in Nepal.
.png)
Flood hitting the Gyirong Port crossing on the China–Nepal border seven minutes after a Ms 5.2 tremor | |
 Extent of debris flow and flooding | |
| Date | 26 August 2026–present |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Type | Ice avalanche or glacier collapse |
| Cause | Under investigation |
| Deaths | 804+[a] |
| Injuries | 1,473+ (in Nepal)[4] |
| Missing | 3,048+[b] |
Property damage | Nepal: रु200 billion+ (USD $1.3 billion+) (as of 27 August 2026)[6] China: TBD |
At least 788[8] deaths and 2,502[8] missing were confirmed in Nepal with an additional 16 dead and 546 missing in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.[3][5] The flood carried the bodies of some victims 240 km (150 mi) away into neighboring India.
Authorities have issued flood warnings for communities along rivers in the Nepali districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, Tanahun, Nawalparasi, and Chitwan.[9]
The precipitating geological event, thought to have been a glacier collapse on Langtang Lirung in the Himalayas, caused a tremor with a magnitude of Ms 5.2 that was detected by seismometers worldwide.[10][11]
Background
Geography and history
The Trishuli River[c] is joined by the Lhende Khola (also known as Lende River or Donglin Tsangpo in Lhasa Tibetan), which originates in Gyirong County, Tibet Autonomous Region before entering Nepal. It then flows past Dhunche, downstream from which it forms part of the Trishuli River system.[12][13]
The flash floods and mudslides occurred around the China–Nepal border crossing at Gyirong Port, a strategic border crossing connecting Nepal's Rasuwa District and Gyirong County. The crossing saw large daily traffic from trading and tourism, especially the pilgrimage tour to Mount Kailash, a holy site in Bon, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.[14]
Since 1900, dozens of floods have occurred near the border between Nepal and China.[15] Langtang Lirung, near the site of the 2026 landslide, experienced a major glacier collapse/debris avalanche triggered by the April and May 2015 Nepal earthquakes. The landslide in the Langtang valley destroyed and buried several villages, killing over 350 people.[16] A July 2025 flood caused by a glacial lake outburst washed away the bridge at the border crossing.[17][18]
Gallery
Districts in Bagmati Province, Nepal
Districts in Gandaki Province, Nepal
- Gyirong County (pink)
- Shigatse (yellow)
- Tibet (light grey)
- China (dark grey)
Trishuli Valley in Rasuwa District
Trishuli River (left) and the Lhende Khola (right) in 2013
.png)
Climate change
Climate change contributes to the melting of permafrost, which in turn increases the likelihood of glacier collapses. Alton C. Byers, a senior research associate at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado at Boulder, said: "Permafrost has been the cryospheric glue that’s held the rock and the ice and the glaciers together for millennia, and now we're getting increasing evidence that it's being weakened by warming trends."[15]
Some scientists have not directly attributed the disaster to climate change, noting more proximate causes.[15] However, other scientists have noted that climate change probably increased the likelihood of this event occurring.[19][20][21][22]
Early warning systems
At the time of the disaster, Chinese and Nepali scientists had maintained a flash flood early warning system for years, which the South China Morning Post credited with consistently preventing casualties.[23] The system proved incapable of detecting the August 2026 disaster in time as the water level monitors were optimised for detecting monsoon floods or perennial floods.[24] Upstream monitoring stations in Nepal were swept away by the flooding before alerts could be sent.[25] A senior fellow at the Stimson Center remarked that the affected region was a monitoring "blind spot" that was paid little attention by geologists.[24]
Cause
Authorities have not yet determined a definitive cause of the flood, as the weather was clear at the time of the incident. Nepal's foreign minister Shisir Khanal initially said that an earthquake triggered an avalanche which caused the flooding.[26] However, later analysis by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) indicated that the seismic signal did not precede the collapse but was rather generated by the collapse itself, meaning it was not a tectonic earthquake.[27] Other early analyses suspected a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF).[28][29]
A seismic event measuring Ms 5.2 occurred at 02:52 UTC (08:37 NPT; 10:52 CST) and was centred just north of Langtang Lirung, a mountain in Langtang National Park.[30] The USGS' analysis of long-period seismic waves demonstrated, however, that they were consistent with a glacier collapse, not an earthquake.[31] The GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), in Potsdam, Germany, recorded an event measuring Mw 5.7 that was consistent with a landslide with a timestamp identical to the USGS.[1]
A second landslide event was identified by USGS three hours after the first by analyzing low-frequency seismic waves. The second landslide was recorded as a Ms 4.2 seismic event.[32]
Seven minutes after (vis. 2026 Nepal floods timeline) the seismic event, a surveillance camera[33][34][35] captured floodwaters destroying the Gyirong Port border crossing.[36][37] Such was the scale and speed of the flood, the leading hypothesis of geomorphologists is that the collapsed portion of an unnamed glacier fell thousands of feet[38] and melted from the velocity and friction of the impact. The meltwater and rocks then displaced the river in the valley.[39][40]
There were indications of heavy water flow almost immediately after the seismic waves were detected. The combination of the two near-simultaneous signals, and review of the first satellite imagery, led researchers to conclude that a glacier located some 64 kilometres (40 mi) north of the capital city Kathmandu and some 15 km (9.3 mi) east of where the flood was first noticed, measuring 610 metres (2,000 ft) in width may have fallen 1,200 metres (4,000 ft),[19][41] in what is known as a glacier collapse (also called an ice avalanche).[42][43] According to Daniel Shugar, a geologist at the University of Calgary in Canada who had reviewed satellite imagery after the event:[44]
It looks like a glacier in the area basically snapped off in a clean break, allowing it to fall just over a vertical kilometer to the valley bottom.
Shugar said that initial satellite analysis showed that a 0.2 km2 (49-acre) piece of ice had dropped vertically about 1.2 km (0.75 mi). He said that the lower part of a glacier had broken off at about 5.2 km (3.2 mi) and had crashed onto the valley floor about 1.2 km (0.75 mi) below.[45]
Satellite images and seismology confirm a glacier collapsed,[46][47] which itself is a likely result of destabilisation by tectonic uplift and climate warming.[48] Compared to GLOFs, glacier collapse floods are less frequent in the region, but more destructive.[49] The collapsed glacial material was believed to have originated from an altitude of 5,200–5,400 m (17,100–17,700 ft)[50] and had a size of around 100,000,000–200,000,000 m3 (3.5×109–7.1×109 cu ft).[51] It then moved north-westwards before shifting west.[19]
Risk of second flood
Two barrier lakes formed following the glacier collapse.[52] On 27 August, Chinese authorities warned that one of the lakes with a volume of 2,000,000 m3 (71,000,000 ft3) had formed near the confluence of the Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers, adding that the possibility of a breach was high due to an expected water inflow of 3,000,000 m3 (110,000,000 ft3) until 30 August.[53] The lake overflowed slightly on 28 August, prompting Chinese authorities to briefly pause rescue operations and warn about the potential for additional flooding.[54][55] The barrier lake slowly drained out, with parts of the lake bed visible by 29 August.[56] The other lake was situated at a high elevation, near where the glacier collapsed.[57]
Casualties
According to Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), at least 734 people died,[3] 1,473 were injured[4] and 2,498 were missing in Nepal.[5] As of 29 August 2026, 589 foreign nationals are among the missing.[3]
Among those missing are 288 Indian nationals, 127 Nepali tourists, 90 Americans,[5] 53 Ukrainians, 51 Malaysians, 35 Australians and 33 UK nationals (as of 26 August 2026).[58][59] The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported nearly 100 Chinese citizens in Nepal missing.[27][60] Australia's foreign minister said at least 34 of the missing are pilgrims.[27][61] A group of 77 Isha Foundation pilgrims from 19 different nationalities traveling to Tibet were at Gyirong Port during the flash flood.[62] The Canadian government reported that 32 citizens are missing.[63] The South Korean Foreign Ministry reported 9 citizens working at a hydropower plant construction site went missing.[64] At least 28 police officers, 13 Armed Police Force personnel, 44 Nepali Army personnel, 15 customs office employees, and 4 immigration office employees were reported missing.[65] The Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN) said 934 people involved in 11 hydropower projects also went missing.[66]
China Central Television reported 16 fatalities and 546 missing,[3] including 260 foreigners, in Gyirong County, Tibet Autonomous Region.[27][67][68]
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimated that 93,000 people were impacted by the floods.[69]
The flood carried the bodies of some victims 240 km (150 mi) away,[70] with bodies recovered as far downstream as Nawalparasi District in Nepal[71] and Kushinagar and Maharajganj districts in Uttar Pradesh, India.[4]
Damage
It was estimated that the resulting debris traveled at a speed of around 50 m/s (180 km/h; 110 mph),[72] while analysis of satellite images suggests that the flow reached up to 80 km (50 mi) downstream, with discolorations caused by the flood reaching an elevation of 800 m (2,600 ft) in a valley some 7 km (4.3 mi) from the origin.[73] Following the flood, more than 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) of silt was deposited in the main disaster zone.[74]
Floodwaters reached settlements as high as 80 metres (270 ft) above the river 150 level.[75] In Nepal, residential areas and infrastructure, including roads, sustained extensive damage.[67][76] The districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, and Chitwan were impacted by the flooding.[77] In Nuwakot, floodwater entered areas including Timure, Dhunche, Mailung, Syafrubesi, Betrawati, Trishuli, and Devighat.[75][76] A preliminary estimate by the Nepal government reported that the floods caused Rs 200 billion in damages.[6] Director of the Roads Department Bijaya Jaishi reported an initial estimate of Rs 15 billion in road and bridge infrastructure had been damaged,[78] affecting 41 bridges and 42 km (26 mi) of road.[78][6] A road connecting Syafrubesi and Rasuwagadhi, part of the Trishuli Corridor (NH42), which was under reconstruction after damage from flooding in 2025, was further damaged.[78] A bridge connected to Trishuli Bazaar was swept away.[79] A section of the Prithvi Highway from Baireni to Mugling was blocked until 28 August.[80] Around 1,200 people from at least three villages were displaced.[27] The rural municipality offices in Gosaikunda Rural Municipality and Uttargaya Rural Municipality were washed away.[81]
The education ministry said at least 20 schools were damaged in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts.[82] Damage to electricity generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure disrupted supplies in affected areas. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) said that six major hydropower and transmission facilities had been damaged. These included Rasuwagadhi, Chilime, Trishuli 3A, the Trishuli 3B Hub 220 kV substation, Trishuli Hydropower Station, and Devighat Hydropower Station.[83] The NEA reported that damage to energy infrastructure had removed an estimated 431 megawatts of electricity off of the grid and that projects under construction with a total capacity of 470 megawatts were damaged.[6] The Rasuwagadhi customs office was destroyed,[75] while more than 300 vehicles queuing up at the site were swept away.[84]
In China, road access, communications and electricity supply to the Gyirong Port area were cut off by the flood,[85][86] affecting a section of China National Highway 216.[87] Chinese rescue workers who reached the area on 28 August confirmed that the border crossing complex was destroyed, with one describing the scene as "nothing but ruins".[88] Around 80 trucks were stranded in Kyirong after flooding destroyed about 5 km (3.1 mi) of road running from the town to Rasuwagadhi.[89]
Response
Nepal
The Government of Nepal mobilised the Nepali Army, Armed Police Force, and Nepal Police, supported by helicopters and medical teams, to conduct search, rescue, and relief operations.[90][91] More than 10,000 security personnel were deployed to assist rescue efforts,[92] including 4,200 from the army,[93] 4,200 from the APF,[94] and 4,800 from the Nepal Police.[94] The Council of Ministers declared the area a disaster-hit zone for three months under the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, 2074 (2017).[95][96] The government also offered free medical treatment for those injured and financial assistance to families who lost members.[97][95] On 27 August, Prime Minister Balen Shah arrived in Nuwakot District to monitor the situation.[98] The Prime Minister's Natural Disaster Relief Fund was launched by the government, raising over रू 5,440,000,000 by 29 August.[99] Shah and his cabinet also pledged to donate one month's salary to the said fund.[100]
Nepali officials reported that over 3,700 people had been rescued.[101] As hospitals and morgues in affected areas reached full capacity, injured survivors and deceased bodies were transferred to other locations including Bhairahawa, Bharatpur, Butwal, Gorkha, Kathmandu, Nawalparasi, Palpa, and Pokhara.[102] At least 675 bodies were recovered.[103] Due to a lack of cold storage, many unidentified bodies were temporarily buried until they could be identified.[104] Displaced persons camps were set up in Trishuli Bazar, while residents reported looting in houses with very few police officers to maintain order.[105]
Following the flooding, the Nepal Roads Department began installing bailey bridges to replace collapsed bridges.[78] The Nepal Army delivered eight tonnes of relief supplies to Rasuwa by 27 August.[106] The government launched a psychosocial counseling and telemedicine services program for migrant workers and impacted families.[107] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs initially turned down offers from several countries to send their search-and-rescue teams to support relief operations, citing mismanagement and poor coordination from the joint rescue effort following the 2015 earthquake as the main reason for the decision.[108] However, the Nepalese government allowed for the entry of experts from India, China, Australia and South Korea for help in tunnel rescues, DNA testing and forensic examinations.[109] It also requested heavy-lift cargo drones from international partners to deliver relief supplies to isolated mountain regions.[110]
On 29 August, the NDRRMA said that over 18,700 rescuers have been deployed to help with the search operation.[4]
China
CCP general secretary Xi Jinping called for continued efforts to locate missing people and improvements to disaster monitoring and warning systems.[111][112] The government of the Tibet Autonomous Region mobilized nearly 800 emergency workers and 150 vehicles as well as sniffer dogs and speed boats to help the rescue efforts.[113] Units of the People's Armed Police,[114] the People's Liberation Army and rescue teams from neighboring Sichuan province were deployed to assist in rescue operations.[115][69] The National Fire and Rescue Administration also sent 681 personal and 13 rescue dogs, while the Ministry of Emergency Management sent 60 personnel.[116] Two people were rescued at Gyirong Port. Access to the site was hampered by the accumulation of debris about 3 km (1.9 mi) upstream.[117] Chinese state media reported that 499 residents and 555 tourists had been evacuated from the area in Tibet.[69] Premier Li Qiang arrived in Gyirong on 26 August.[118][27] The China Meteorological Administration set up portable automatic weather stations in Gyirong Port.[119] The China National Space Administration stated that it coordinated and mobilized satellite resources to perform emergency imaging of the impacted area.[120] The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) stated that it would provide emergency supplies and cash assistance to Nepal.[121][122] The Ministry of Emergency Management deployed tunnel experts to aid rescue efforts at a hydropower station tunnel in Nepal.[3]
Censorship of the disaster
Videos of the disaster taken by locals in Tibet were censored on Chinese social media platforms. On the state-run flagship news bulletin Xinwen Lianbo, only a single still-frame shot from CCTV footage of the disaster was shown.[123][124] China tightly controls information in Tibet which was annexed by China in 1951 and where protests over autonomy are suppressed; foreign journalists are not permitted to enter the region except on government-supervised trips, and Tibetans can face punishment for speaking to journalists.[123][125] Chinese state media carried several broadcasts about the disaster and sent journalists to the affected area, although reports focused mainly on rescue efforts rather than the extent of the devastation.[125] Several foreign journalists said that Chinese authorities denied their requests to visit the affected areas following the disaster. The Chinese foreign ministry cited difficulties reaching the area and the possibility of further disasters.[126] ABC News reported that several smaller Chinese state-media outlets initially published interviews with witnesses, but that the articles were removed within hours.[126] Restrictions on independent reporting made the extent of the damage and the number of casualties on the Tibetan side difficult to verify.[125][127]
Other countries
|
|
|---|---|
 Australia |
Australia announced it would provide A$5,000,000 in aid for communities affected by the floods, with A$2,000,000 donated towards the World Food Programme, A$2,000,000 towards the Australian Humanitarian Partnership, and A$2,000,000 towards the Emergency Action Alliance.[128][122] |
 Bangladesh | Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman spoke with his Nepalese counterpart Shisir Khanal on 27 August, conveying Bangladesh's condolences and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's personal condolence message to Nepalese prime minister Balen Shah. Rahman said that Bangladesh was ready to provide support as required by Nepal, while Khanal thanked Bangladesh for its solidarity and said that Nepal was assessing the damage and would communicate its specific needs.[129][130][131] The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief sent tents, mosquito nets, packets of dry food, torch lights, shovels, sleeping bags, water containers and body bags to the flood-affected areas of Nepal.[132][133] A minute of silence was observed in the Jatiya Sangsad for the deceased victims of the floods.[134] |
 Canada | Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Secretary of State (International Development) Randeep Sarai announced CA$5,000,000 in humanitarian assistance funding to support emergency relief efforts in Nepal, to be delivered through UN, Red Cross and Canadian NGO partners. Canada also offered to deploy relief supplies from its emergency stockpiles via the Canadian Red Cross and deployed five consular officials to Kathmandu to assist Canadians in the region.[135] |
 India | On 27 August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Nepalese counterpart, Balen Shah, to offer humanitarian assistance and aid.[136] The Ministry of External Affairs sent a team of rescuers and medical personnel.[137][138] By 29 August, India had sent 62 tonnes of disaster relief supplies in three airlifts.[122] |
 Israel | Israeli humanitarian organizations IsraAID and NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief deployed emergency teams to Nepal to provide relief supplies, medical care and mental health support to affected communities.[139][140][141] |
 Japan | The Japanese government, under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), agreed to send disaster relief supplies including tents, blankets, jerrycans, plastic sheets, and sleeping pads to Nepal to help in its response.[142][143] The supplies were brought to Kathmandu via plane from a JICA warehouse in Singapore.[142] |
 Malaysia | The Malaysian government and Ministry of Defence are prepared to send rescue teams consisting of Malaysian Armed Forces and Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team personnel to assist the search and rescue efforts.[144][145] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is coordinating with their Nepali and Chinese counterparts to locate 55 missing Malaysians.[146] |
 Pakistan | Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Nepali prime minister Balen Shah and dispatched emergency relief assistance teams to Nepal.[147] |
 Philippines | President Bongbong Marcos offered his condolences to Nepal.[148] The Philippine government, through its embassy in New Delhi and honorary consulate in Kathmandu, where reportedly working with Nepalese authorities to provide assistance to Filipinos affected by the disaster.[149] |
 Singapore | The Singaporean government agreed to send $100,000 USD to the Singapore Red Cross Society already helping in the disaster relief response in Nepal.[150][151] The disaster relief team, which was deployed from the Singapore High Commission in New Delhi, was primarily involved in providing consular assistance for affected Singaporeans and their families.[152] Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan both commented on assistance efforts being made.[152] |
 South Korea | South Korea dispatched a response team and sent $1,000,000 USD in humanitarian assistance to Nepal.[153] South Korean conglomerate Doosan Group, involved in the construction of Rasuwa's Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower station, pledged 5,000,000 USD in aid.[154] |
 Sri Lanka | President Anura Kumara Dissanayake directed the government of Sri Lanka to provide $1,000,000 USD to Nepal to support humanitarian and relief efforts.[155] |
 United Arab Emirates |
The United Arab Emirates allocated $10,000,000 USD in humanitarian assistance to Nepal.[122][156] |
 United Kingdom | Prime Minister Andy Burnham, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Catherine expressed their solidarity with Nepal.[157] The United Kingdom pledged £5,000,000 in aid and offered a search-and-rescue team to assist.[153] |
 United States | The United States Department of State initially pledged $500,000 USD in emergency assistance to Nepal, later announcing additional $3,600,000 USD in humanitarian aid that includes up to three months of emergency food assistance for approximately 10,000 affected households, aswell as the deployment of a disaster response adviser.[158][86] |
 Vietnam | General Secretary of the Communist Party Tô Lâm, Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng, Chairman of the National Assembly Trần Thanh Mẫn, Permanent Member of the Secretariat Trần Cẩm Tú, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung, and Vietnamese Fatherland Front chairwoman Bùi Thị Minh Hoài all extended their condolences to their counterparts in China and Nepal.[159] |
International organizations
The International Charter Space and Major Disasters, which provides for widespread albeit contingent humanitarian satellite coverage, is activated.[160] UN secretary-general António Guterres stated that United Nations teams and partners were sending supplies and personnel to support the Nepal government-led response.[79][86] The UN Central Emergency Response Fund released $2,000,000 USD to assist with medical care, shelter and water.[27] The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies released CHF 1,000,000 in assistance.[153] The World Health Organization dispatched essential emergency medical supplies and released US$150,000 in funds..[153] Médecins Sans Frontières sent an emergency team to Nepal.[153] The European Union allocated €2,000,000 in humanitarian relief and activated its Copernicus satellite surveillance system to aid recovery efforts.[161][132] The Asian Development Bank issued a grant of $5,000,000 USD for humanitarian assistance.[162] Welthungerhilfe provided €2,000,000 from its emergency relief fund.[122] The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, in coordination with the Nepal government, launched a program to map buildings and roads from satellite images to help responders identify affected locations.[163]
See also
- Timeline of the 2026 Nepal floods
- List of flash floods
- List of deadliest floods
- Madan Ashrit Highway disaster, landslide which occurred near the Trishuli river
- Other flash floods that involve land/mudslides
- Other major avalanche/glacial collapse
- Other major mass movements in the vicinity
- Tsergo Ri landslide, one of the Earth's largest known mass movements, ca. 10 km to the south-east, prehistoric
