Nepal flash flood
Kathmandu/New Delhi: India is sending relief material to Nepal on Indian Air Force planes after massive flash floods swept through northern districts in the neighbouring country on the morning of Wednesday, August 26.
A consignment of emergency assistance, including medicines and rations, will be sent to the neighbouring country as part of the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative of the government, officials said.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescuers will also be sent to initiate relief and rescue operations in the affected areas of Nepal, they said.
A sudden, massive flood swept through two Nepal districts bordering Tibet, killing four people, leaving 400 others missing and causing extensive devastation in settlements along the river, including a dozen hydropower projects.
At least 105 Indians and 37 NRIs are among the nearly 400 people missing in Rasuwa district, officials said.
Reacting to the news of devastation coming in from the neighbouring country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X, “Spoke to Prime Minister Balendra Shah and conveyed condolences on the loss of life due to the floods in Nepal. The people of India stand in solidarity with their sisters and brothers in Nepal at this difficult time.
“India is ready to provide all possible humanitarian assistance to Nepal. Our teams are coordinating closely on rescue and relief efforts.”
In Kathmandu, officials said the flood surged through the Bhote Koshi River at around 9 am (local time), coming from the Tibetan side, affecting the Rasuwa and Dhading districts bordering Tibet and the Nuwakot district, southwest of Kathmandu.
Multiple downstream districts, including Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Chitawan, have been placed on high alert even as officials started search and rescue operations with the help of the Nepal Army in the affected areas.
The sudden rise in water caused widespread destruction in Timure in the Rasuwa district and the nearby Syafrubesi area, with vehicles, goods and other property washed away, the Nepal Army said in a statement.
The most affected is Rasuwa, about 125 km northeast of Kathmandu, situated near the Tibet border. The bodies of three men and a woman were recovered from Bidur Municipality in Nuwakot district after the flash flood, the senior superintendent of police and spokesperson at the Bagmati Province Police Office told PTI.
Their bodies were found lying near the Trishuli River soon after the flood, he said.
In a statement, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRM) of Nepal called on people residing near the river banks of Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan, and Gorkha to remain on high alert and take safety measures until further notice.
The flooding did not appear to have been caused by heavy rainfall in Rasuwa itself, according to Dinkar Kayastha, information officer at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.
It might have been caused by either the formation of a new glacier or the bursting of the old one, he said. “We are still studying the matter, so the real cause is not yet known,” he said and maintained that the risk of the flood from the Tibetan side has not yet vanished, so “we need to be cautious”.
Investigations are under way to determine the cause of the sudden surge, with officials examining whether it was triggered by a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) or another factor, The Himalayan Times said.
Rasuwa Assistant Chief District Officer Dhruva Prasad Adhikari said the scale of the flooding was unusually large and that the two settlements had suffered significant damage.
Rasuwa Chief Customs Officer Rajendra Dhungana said numerous vehicles and goods kept at the customs premises were swept away. A recently constructed bridge was also destroyed. This is a place which regulates Nepal’s trade traffic connecting Tibet, China.
The flash flood damaged in-operation eight hydropower projects with a total capacity of 354 MW and five under construction projects located in Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts, according to a statement by Independent Power Producers’ Association Nepal (IPPAN).
The major in-operation hydropower projects damaged by the floods include Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project (111 MW), Sanjen Khola Hydropower Project (78 MW) and Upper Trishuli 3A (60 MW).
The Kathmandu Post quoted Chameli Gurung, deputy chair of Uttargaya Rural Municipality, who said around a dozen settlements, including Syaphrubesi, Betrawati, Mailung, Salletar, Shantibazar, Pairebesi, Khalti Basti, Sole, Trishuli and Battar, had been affected.
Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, and Nepal Police personnel were mobilised in the affected areas to carry out rescue and relief work after an emergency meeting chaired by Prime Minister Balendra Shah to assess the situation.
Nepal Army mobilised 12 helicopters to conduct search and rescue operations after the flash flood. Six people were rescued from Syafrubesi, two from Mailung, and four from Dhunche, all in Rasuwa district, according to a Nepal Army statement.
The Nepal Army has also established a treatment centre at the Military Training Centre No. 1 in Trishuli, where medical personnel from the Nepal Army are providing emergency medical treatment to the affected people, the statement said.
An Army helicopter (MI17) equipped with an Emergency Medical Rescue Team was also mobilised towards the district hospital in Trishuli, it added.
A local media report quoted spokesperson for Nepal Police Abi Narayan Kafle, who said the Area Police Office in Timure, the police post in Syaphrubesi and the police post at Rasuwagadhi had also been damaged.
Four Armed Police Force (Paramilitary) personnel have gone missing from Rasuwa after the flash flood, said Netra Bahadur Karki, Armed Police Force spokesperson.
A team of 16 health personnel, including five doctors, have been dispatched to the affected area in Rasuwa for medical treatment of those injured.
The devastating flood has swept away a bridge in Gajuri of Dhading district. Five drones have been mobilised to help with rescue and relief work. Three sniper dogs have been dispatched to the affected area to locate the missing persons.
At least 105 Indians are among the nearly 400 persons missing. According to a statement by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), a total of 384 travellers, 291 foreigners and 93 Nepalese nationals have gone missing due to the Rasuwa floods.
These travellers include 105 Indian tourists, 37 NRIs and the remaining tourists from the USA, Malaysia, the UK, South Africa, Australia and the Netherlands.
The Nepal Tourism Board also issued a toll-free emergency number, 1234, or a hotline, 1144, or tourist police, 9851289445, for help.
This post was last modified on August 26, 2026 5:52 pm