More than 1,300 are missing in Nepal and Tibet after catastrophic floods
caused by glacier collapse
[August 27, 2026]
By NIRANJAN SHRESTHA and SHRISTI KAFLE
DEVIGHAT, Nepal (AP) — Rescue teams searched on Thursday for hundreds of
missing people along the Nepal-China border after a catastrophic and
deadly torrent of floods and mud swept through several communities a day
earlier following a glacier collapse.
The disaster left at least 273 people dead and more than 1,300 missing,
including foreigners and pilgrims, and displaced hundreds of people
across the Himalayan region.
Videos of the tragedy showed the flood swallowing up people as they
tried to escape, and destroying buildings and bridges. On Thursday,
drone footage from Nepal showed the scale of the destruction.
The region’s steep valleys are economic lifelines and travel corridors,
but are precarious when disaster strikes. Images showed what appeared to
be the second floors of buildings in Nuwakot slathered in mud after the
torrent rushed by. Debris hung from tree branches and wires, vehicles
were buried and some stunned survivors were caked in mud. The floods
halted travel in some areas.
There was little time for anyone to flee.
The village of Soley in Nuwakot, with about 25 homes, was virtually
wiped out, said Nirajan Paudyal, a Kathmandu-based journalist whose
parents and other relatives live there. Desperate for information, he
traveled to the area on Thursday for news of his family.
"There is no update till now. I fear there won’t be any update,” Paudyal
said.
Warming climate threatens communities
The Himalayan mountain range spans several countries in South Asia and
has many of the world’s highest peaks and remaining glaciers.
The steep slopes and the lush valleys below the Himalayan mountain range
are especially vulnerable to flooding and landslides, and extreme
weather events. Melting glaciers have become more common because of
warming because of human-caused climate change.
Researchers in Kathmandu found earlier this year that glaciers across
the Hindu Kush Himalaya region are melting faster, with ice loss rates
doubling since 2000.
Helicopters deployed for rescue as roads were damaged
The disaster has left at least 270 dead and 826 people missing in Nepal,
and three dead and 558 missing in Tibet, authorities said.
Nepalese officials said that dozens of bridges were destroyed and nearly
40 kilometers (25 miles) of roads were damaged, complicating search
efforts.
The Nepalese army has rescued more than 100 people from flood-affected
areas through helicopter operations on Thursday morning, army
spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet said.
At least eight foreign nationals were airlifted to the country’s
capital, Kathmandu, he said, adding that army teams also evacuated
people trapped inside facilities linked to the Trishuli hydropower
project.
Rescuers found bodies hundreds of kilometers downstream from the
disaster zone in Chitwan district. Dozens of injured people have been
transported to Kathmandu for advanced medical care.
Bishal Kumar Bhandari, chairman of the Nepal Red Cross Society, said
they have shifted focus from rescue to large-scale relief operations in
the flood-hit districts. He said that around 1,200 people were displaced
from at least three villages.
In Tibet, a mudslide that struck near the land border crossing of
Gyirong Port on Wednesday left mud in the surrounding areas more than 1½
meters (5 feet) deep on average, with some road sections exceeding 2
meters (6 feet), Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. Roads leading
to the port were all damaged, while secondary collapses or landslides
might occur as rain continued in the area, it added.
Chinese authorities deployed a large military transport aircraft to send
a team to the region, and the country's premier, Li Qiang, arrived in
Gyirong on Thursday to direct rescue efforts.
Further, Chinese authorities are warning that a barrier lake, which
formed at the confluence of Tsogyal River and the Purupqiangzangbu, is
overflowing and may burst.
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A vehicle is seen in the aftermath of a flash floods in Devighat in
the Nuwakot district in Nepal. Thursday, Aug 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan
Shrestha)
Hundreds of foreigners are missing
According to Nepal’s Tourism Board, 517 of the missing people in the
country were foreigners and 178 of them were from India, and some
were likely there on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a
sacred site for Hindus.
The site, however, drew tourists from all over the world. More than
60 of the missing in Nepal were from the U.S. and the rest were from
30 other countries, ranging from Ukraine and the U.K to South Africa
and Japan, the Tourism Board said.
Indian spiritual guru and the head of the Isha Foundation, Sadhguru
Jaggi Vasudev, said on X that 77 people from one of his pilgrimage
groups to the Mount Kailash were caught in the flash floods at the
immigration office at the Nepal-China border.
A visibly emotional Sadhguru said in a video that the group included
foreign nationals from various countries. He said that there was no
official information on the whereabouts of those who were at the
immigration office, including 22 U.S. nationals.
“Looking at the scale of destruction, it looks bad. The same
building where we were for the immigration just a week ago, that
entire building is washed away,” Sadhguru said.
In addition, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin
Jian said that nearly 100 Chinese citizens were missing on the Nepal
side. He said that according to preliminary information, 260 of
those missing in Tibet were foreigners.
Experts say glacier collapse caused devastating floods
The U.S. Geological Survey first reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake
early Wednesday, about 66 kilometers (41 miles) north of Kathmandu,
near the border.
The USGS later updated its analysis to say the seismic event it
measured was a magnitude 5.2 glacier collapse that sent debris
flowing downstream with catastrophic impact on communities. It said
its determination was based on data from nearby seismic stations,
long period seismic waves and satellite imagery, and that no
earthquake had occurred.
Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for
Integrated Mountain Development said an avalanche from a glacier
likely caused Wednesday’s flash flood.
“Hydrological observations indicate the exceptional speed and
magnitude of the flood wave,” they said in an emailed statement,
noting that water levels at one point on the Trishuli river rose by
as much as 9 meters (27 feet) over half an hour.
The Lhende Khola River, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi, had maximum
flooding, they said.
The disaster in Nepal and Tibet is not a one-off. The increasingly
unstable Himalayan ice system threatens communities, infrastructure
and water supplies across one of the world’s most densely populated
regions.
The region saw similar flash floods in August 2025, when a glacial
lake in Tibet overflowed because of high temperatures. Nine people
were killed, and critical infrastructure, including a bridge
connecting Nepal and China, was damaged.
___
Shristi Kafle reported from Kathmandu, Nepal. Upendra Mansingh in
Nuwakot District, Nepal, Kanis Leung in Hong Kong, Aijaz Hussain in
Srinagar, India, Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, Eileen Ng in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington,
New Zealand, contributed to this report.
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