Nepal and China have both warned of fresh risks of flooding as authorities scramble to respond to a catastrophe that has killed more than 469 people and left hundreds missing.
The Nepalese disaster authority said a lake created at the site of the flooding was at risk of a potentially disastrous breach.
And China warned that water equivalent to 1,200 Olympic swimming pools is expected to flow into an already dammed lake on its side of the border over the next three days, creating a high risk of its banks bursting.
Basanta Raj Adhikari, the director of the Centre for Disaster Studies at the Tribhuvan University in Nepal, told the BBC that there was a risk that conditions worsen today or tomorrow, including landslides.
The situation on the ground has complicated rescue efforts, with at least 1,000 people still unaccounted for, including almost 650 foreigners and 33 British tourists swept up in Wednesday’s flooding caused by a glacier collapse.
The president of the Nepal Centre for Disaster Management said the disaster came at them like a “tsunami from the sky”.
“It’s such a huge debris, and everything on the way was completely washed out,” said Bishal Nath Upreti. “Villages along almost 40km to 50km [30 miles] were completely wiped out.”
Key Points
- Death toll from flash floods climbs to 389
- Nepal and China warn of risk of second wave of flooding
- UK will ‘do everything to help’ Nepalese authorities as 33 Britons missing
- Officials fear only "1% chance" of survival for missing
- Experts say avalanche from glacier caused flash floods
- Horror moment wall of water wipes out Nepal border crossing - video
Rescuers scour Nepal flood debris as risk of fresh flooding grows
04:34 , Namita Singh
Rescue teams using heavy machinery dug through mud and debris in Nepalese towns devastated by a flash flood two days ago, as hopes of finding survivors faded and officials worked to reduce the risk of fresh flooding.
The confirmed death toll in Nepal was at 469 people early on Friday, with hundreds more missing there and in neighbouring Tibet, near where a glacier collapse on Wednesday morning sent a huge torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris cascading through Himalayan mountain river systems.
The flood ripped through villages and valleys, destroying power stations, roads and bridges along a route that links Kathmandu with Lhasa in Tibet and is popular with trekkers and pilgrims.
Of those missing, at least 650 are foreigners. Authorities in Nepal used helicopters to search for survivors and drop emergency supplies to thousands cut off in towns and valleys, while emergency services – some using sniffer dogs – recovered dozens of bodies swept down into the plains.
Nepal death toll jumps to 469
04:11 , Namita Singh
The death toll from the flash floods in Nepal has jumped to 469, said the police.
A glacier collapse on Wednesday morning sent a huge torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris cascading through Himalayan mountain river systems.
The flood ripped through villages and valleys, destroying power stations, roads and bridges along a route that links Kathmandu with Lhasa in Tibet and is popular with trekkers and pilgrims.
Nepal and China warn of second flood from newly formed lakes
04:00 , Jane Dalton
Nepal and China both warned on Thursday of fresh risks of flooding in the Himalayas as two lakes that have developed on either side of their border threaten to burst in a region still grappling with this week's catastrophic flood.
Search -and-rescue operations are still under way in the debris-strewn valleys and hillsides for the more than 1,000 people still missing.
Both countries have blamed the flood on a glacier collapse that pushed rock, ice, mud and debris into river systems in the mountains.
Nepal's disaster authority issued a notice on Thursday warning that a lake formed by debris blocking a river at the flood site is rising and at risk of bursting.
'I'm broken - I have no one else,' says sister of missing pilgrim
03:00 , Jane Dalton
Many victims were pilgrims heading to Kailash Mansarovar, a high-altitude site in Tibet revered by Hindus and Buddhists.
Around the world, relatives of those missing were desperate for information about their loved ones.
Vasanthi Muniandy, whose sister Vennila was part of a Hindu pilgrimage group from Malaysia, said she had last heard from her after Vennila had crossed into Tibet from Nepal.
"I am totally broken. My sister is very important to me," said Vasanthi. "I really want her to come back. I don’t have anyone but her. I just want her to come back home. I want her to be safe."
Sagar Pandey, the chief executive of a Himalayan tourism operator, told Reuters after flying over the zone in a helicopter: “There are no human-made things, no human settlement left. Everything is just flat.
"So anyone in the hotel, the restaurant, or the car, I believe that everybody is gone."
Bodies found 62 miles from disaster area
02:00 , Jane Dalton
The Red Cross said entire villages in Nepal had been destroyed and impassable roads and bridges had left communities cut off.
Rescue teams located 100 missing Indian visitors, mostly pilgrims, and 25 Chinese workers in the worst-hit region around Trishuli.
The flood “came in suddenly and exploded like a bomb,” said survivor Janak Bahadur.
Ganesh Aryal, administrator of Chitwan district, said authorities had recovered 103 bodies from the river system in his district, which is about 62 miles away in the plains from the worst-hit region of Trishuli.
With local hospitals unable to accommodate all the bodies, district authorities were setting up tents and making arrangements for families to claim their dead relatives, he said.
Rescuers 'yet to reach worst-hit area in China'
01:00 , Jane Dalton
Chinese rescuers had yet to reach the worst-hit area on the Chinese side of the border, the Gyirong border crossing, by Thursday evening, state-media reports indicated.
Crews were working to clear debris from the key access road leading to the area.
All the buildings in the border-crossing complex, including the border gate, a stately building bearing China's national emblem and housing customs and immigration agencies, were destroyed by the mudslide, footage showed.
The entire compound was reduced to an unrecognisable mass, caked in thick, muddy debris and almost devoid of any sign of civilisation, the footage showed.
The tally of missing in Tibet's Gyirong County was 558, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on Thursday, including 260 foreign nationals.
Watch: Terrifying CCTV shows people fleeing seconds before water engulfs Nepal-Tibet border
Thursday 27 August 2026 23:59 , Jane Dalton
Terrifying CCTV shows people fleeing as floodwaters engulf Nepal border crossing
Timeline of deadly Himalayan disasters
Thursday 27 August 2026 23:00 , Jane Dalton
A timeline of deadly Himalayan disasters as Nepal flash floods kills hundreds
UK offers Nepal £5m
Thursday 27 August 2026 22:30 , Jane Dalton
UK offers £5m to Nepal following devastating flash floods
Watch: Sussex man says he hasn't heard from family in Nepal
Thursday 27 August 2026 22:00 , Jane Dalton
Kent woman desperate for news of sister
Thursday 27 August 2026 21:20 , Jane Dalton
A woman from Kent says she has been unable to contact her sister, who was near the Nepal-Tibet border when the flash flooding hit.
Tatajana Phillips told the BBC her sister, Julija Jakovicka, was last known to be in the border area an hour before the disaster struck.
"Then there is no more news," she says. "We are really hoping that people hear us and try to find [my sister]".
Phillips says her sister, a mother of two living in Germany, was in the country for a yoga and meditation retreat with tourists.
"We are terribly worried," adds Phillips's husband, Ben. "We just know where they were and that's really tough."
Rescuers save 350 people stranded in tunnel
Thursday 27 August 2026 20:52 , Jane Dalton
As many as 350 people stranded in a tunnel at a hydropower plant have been rescued, a Nepali news site reports.
A rescue operation for 100 workers and locals still stranded inside was going on.
The Nepali Army rescued 833 people from flood-hit area on Thursday, Rising Nepal Daily said.
Husband of British woman 'devastated' as no reply from her phone
Thursday 27 August 2026 20:00 , Jane Dalton
The “devastated” husband of a British woman missing in Nepal says he's been desperately trying to contact her but has been unable to.
Sunil Amin told Sky News he last heard from his wife, Hema Amin, on Monday, at around 4.30pm, after she travelled to Nepal with her sister over the weekend.
"I keep trying to call her. I've been trying, trying, trying," he said, speaking from Croydon.
Mr Amin said the sisters started a pilgrimage to Gosainkunda lake on Monday.
Since the floods struck yesterday morning, he's been repeatedly trying to get in touch with her, with no success.
When he tries to call her, it just rings out or doesn't get through, he said, adding: "We are waiting for replies but nothing is coming through. We're having no joy."
Pictured: Clean-up efforts begin
Thursday 27 August 2026 19:15 , Jane Dalton
What triggered Nepal flash floods?
Thursday 27 August 2026 18:43 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The Himalayan flash floods that have killed at least 380 people and left some 1,500 missing across Nepal and Tibet were not triggered by an earthquake, contrary to initial reports, but by a glacier collapse so violent it produced its own seismic signal, the United States Geological Survey said.
The agency initially recorded a magnitude 4.4 earthquake along the Nepal-China border, north of Kathmandu, at about 8.37am local time on Wednesday, before revising its assessment in a statement issued that evening.
It said the seismic signal had come from “a glacial collapse and debris flow” rather than a tectonic quake, and that the collapse alone had caused the catastrophic flooding downstream. Once reclassified, the event registered at magnitude 5.2, a measure of the force of the ice and rock striking the valley floor rather than of any movement underground.
Read more here:
What triggered Nepal flash floods? And why are experts worried about a second flood?
Magnitude 5 earthquake hits Tibet, hundreds of miles north of Himalayan flood
Thursday 27 August 2026 18:03 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck China's Tibet region late on Thursday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said.
The quake was at a depth of 10 km in northern Tibet, GFZ said.
The epicentre was hundreds of miles north of the regions of Nepal and China that were hit by a devastating flash flood on Wednesday that killed hundreds and left more than 1,000 people missing.
China's earthquake networks centre also reported a magnitude 4.7 quake in Nagqu, Tibet, on Wednesday, state-run Xinhua news agency said.
China has activated a Level-IV flood response in Tibet amid the risk of a barrier lake breach, Xinhua added.
China's Ministry of Water Resources told local authorities to monitor the barrier lake and rainfall, and sent an expert team to Gyirong county, according to Xinhua.
Chinese villagers rescued, authorities say
Thursday 27 August 2026 17:45 , Jane Dalton
China’s state news agency says at least 300 residents of villages near a border port struck by the mudslide in the country’s southwest were taken to safety, according to authorities.
Residents of villages near a border port struck by a mudslide in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region have all been evacuated, according to Xizang's border inspection authorities. #XinhuaNews pic.twitter.com/X5SAeAMXsS
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 27, 2026
Death toll rises to 389, police say
Thursday 27 August 2026 17:28 , Jane Dalton
The number of people killed by the flood has risen to 389, Nepali police say.
Bodies have been recovered in eight districts, they say.
Sussex man’s wife, parents, brother and uncle missing after Nepal floods
Thursday 27 August 2026 17:15 , Jane Dalton
Sussex man’s wife, parents, brother and uncle missing after Nepal floods
Rescuers move after warning of fresh flood
Thursday 27 August 2026 16:52 , Jane Dalton
Some rescue workers in Nepal have begun moving towards higher ground after warnings of a second flood.
Pawan Koirala, who began moving away from the river bed along with his team of 13, said: “We are here for rescue and don't want to be near the danger zone."
Fear of second flood prompts evacuation order
Thursday 27 August 2026 16:28 , Jane Dalton
Evacuation orders are in place for Jilong Port on the Nepal-Tibet border because of a the risk of a second wave of flooding.
Experts are assessing whether debris from the flood temporarily blocked Nepal's Trishuli River at a narrow section, forming a landslide dam.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in Nepal says that type of blockage can create a secondary hazard if impounded water is suddenly released.
"With a blockage still lodged upstream on the Nepal-China border, authorities warn a second flood is imminent," said Qianggong Zhang, head of climate and environmental risks.
Nepal and China warn of risk of second wave of flooding
Thursday 27 August 2026 16:22 , Jane Dalton
Nepal and China have both warned of fresh risks of flooding in the Himalayas as two lakes that have developed on either side of their border threaten to burst.
Nepal's disaster authority issued a notice warning that a lake formed by debris blocking a river at the flood site is rising and at risk of bursting.
"Residents of the lower banks... passengers, rescuers engaged in rescue operations, and all concerned are requested to exercise special caution and stay in safe places away from the river banks and risky areas," the authority said.
China warned that 3 million cubic meters of water — the equivalent of about 1,200 Olympic swimming pools — are expected to flow into an already dammed lake on its side of the border over the next three days, creating a high risk of a breach, with peak flow expected around September 1.
Rainfall forecast over the coming week will exacerbate the threat, Chinese state media said, citing the Chinese water resources ministry.
"The volume of water is continuing to increase, and so is the risk," Zhu Jinfeng, a researcher at the water resources ministry's hydrology department, told state broadcaster CCTV.
Nepal workers run as terrifying floodwaters close in
Thursday 27 August 2026 15:30 , Dan Haygarth
Mapped: Location of the floods
Thursday 27 August 2026 14:48 , Dan Haygarth
'Please help us', says mayor
Thursday 27 August 2026 14:40 , Dan Haygarth
Kabita Dhungana, deputy mayor of Nuwakot in Nepal, said “please help us”, as she spoke to BBC Radio 4’s The World At One about the flash floods her region is experiencing.
She said: “Family members, children, parents are missing, and this is a very critical bad situation…
“Everything, basic needs are destroyed, so please help us. We are really in need of help.”
King Charles 'heartbroken' after floods in Nepal
Thursday 27 August 2026 14:29 , Dan Haygarth
King Charles said he and the Queen were “heartbroken” and sent their “most profound sympathy” to those affected by the “devastating” flash floods in Nepal where dozens of British nationals are among the hundreds missing and feared dead.
The King said in his written message: “My wife and I are heartbroken to hear of the devastating flooding that has struck the Nepal-China border.
“Many in the United Kingdom have strong, deep and personal ties to this part of the world.
“We send our most profound sympathy to all those who have so tragically lost their loved ones and we feel deeply for the many families awaiting anxiously the news of friends and relations.
“Our hearts go out also to the families of all the police and Armed Forces personnel who lost their lives while carrying out their courageous duty in the service of others and we give our deepest thanks to those who have responded so selflessly in undertaking rescue efforts.
“Our special thoughts and prayers remain with all those affected and, as always, the United Kingdom stands ready to help support those in need.
“Charles R.”
Nepali man recalls how he clung to mango tree for survival during deadly flash floods: ‘I would have washed away to death’
Thursday 27 August 2026 14:16 , Dan Haygarth
Bibek Kumal, a 24-year-old Nepali labourer, was digging a 1.5m (5ft) deep toilet pit beside a newly constructed house on Wednesday when he heard a distinct hissing sound. Seconds later, a torrent of mud, water and rock tore through the site, sweeping him and everything nearby away.
Working in Bidur, downstream from the severely impacted Rasuwa district near Nepal’s border with Tibet, Mr Kumal was warned by four co-workers standing above who shouted at him to run. By the time he managed to scramble out, his colleagues had already fled.
“I started running. Then a wall of water came thundering down as if it was an earthquake,” Kumal said from his bed at Kathmandu’s National Trauma Centre, his brother Dinesh sitting beside him.
Read more:
Nepali man recalls how he clung to mango tree for survival during deadly flash floods
Watch: UK offers £5m to Nepal following country’s devastating flash floods
Thursday 27 August 2026 14:00 , Dan Haygarth
Live: Nepal flash floods live: Fears of second flood as death toll rises with hundreds more missing
Thursday 27 August 2026 13:44 , James Reynolds
Death toll rises to 359 - local media
Thursday 27 August 2026 13:17 , James Reynolds
The reported death toll in Nepal has risen to 359, according to local media.
More than 650 foreigners are still unaccounted for while Nepali authorities were yet to determine the number of locals missing.
Flood lake at risk of bursting in Nepal
Thursday 27 August 2026 12:54 , James Reynolds
A lake formed at the site where the flood in Nepal occurred is rising and is at risk of bursting, the country's disaster authority said on Thursday, as it appealed to residents and rescuers to stay away from the river banks.
The blockage of a river on Wednesday led to the lake's formation, the authority said.
Have you been affected by the floods?
Thursday 27 August 2026 12:48 , James Reynolds
We are looking to hear from people who have been affected by the flash floods in Nepal.
If you or someone you know has been impacted, and you would like to share a story or appeal, contact [email protected].
If you need support, the UK is providing consular support to British nationals who require assistance following flash flooding in the Nepal-China border area.
British nationals who need assistance should call:
Nepal: +977 (0) 1423 7100China: +86 (0) 10 5192 4000UK: +44 (0) 20 7008 5000
Full story - Survivors of Nepal flash floods describe being hit by ‘wall of water’: ‘My wife is still beneath the mud’
Thursday 27 August 2026 12:25 , Dan Haygarth
Survivors of Nepal flood describe ‘wall of water’: ‘My wife is beneath the mud’
What caused the deadly flood?
Thursday 27 August 2026 12:07 , Dan Haygarth
The deadly flash flood in Nepal on Wednesday was likely caused by a huge chunk of a glacier that broke off and temporarily dammed a river, according to preliminary investigations by scientists.
That may have led to the backed-up water surging downstream with enormous force a few hours later, they suggested.
Scientists are still piecing together information from satellite and ground-level data to figure out exactly what happened to cause the flood.
The US Geological Survey on Wednesday reported 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.
"A lower part of a glacier has really come off," said Jakob Steiner, a geoscientist at the University of Graz in Austria who is currently based in Bangladesh.
"If you look at the imagery it's like someone cut with a huge knife through the whole lower part and it fell off."
Steiner said a mass of glacial ice dropping from a great height could have felt like a bomb exploding, resulting in the chaos that followed.
Death toll from flash floods climbs to 330
Thursday 27 August 2026 11:56 , James Reynolds
At least 332 people have been killed in the wave of deadly flash floods that tore through villages on the border between Nepal and the Tibet region.
Nepal police issued its latest update at 11.05 BST, 15.50 local time, on Thursday, a day after the floods hit.
The update came shortly after an earlier notice at 9.45 BST, 14.30 local time, which put the death toll at 289.
Officials fear only '1% chance' of survival for missing
Thursday 27 August 2026 11:20 , Dan Haygarth
An official from a tourism agency operating in the area feared that there was a very slim chance of survival of the foreign nationals missing in the flash floods.
Officials in Nepal earlier said 403 people, including 341 foreigners, were reported missing. About 133 were from India, 47 from the US, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 24 from Canada were among the missing.
Chief Executive Sagar Pandey of Himalayan Glacier, a tourism agency operating in the area, confirmed 15 of the missing Australians were on a religious tour to Mount Kailash that it was organising.
The group also included people from India, the US, Canada and Singapore.
They were planning to enter Tibet and go to Mount Kailash and (Lake) Manasarovar, which is one of the holiest landmarks on earth, he said.
Pandey said he had flown over the flood zone by helicopter and believed there was only a "1% chance" of survival.
Nations with tourists missing in Nepal flood
Thursday 27 August 2026 11:00 , Dan Haygarth
As many as 517 foreigners from 33 countries are among the 570 tourists missing in Nepal after a catastrophic flood devastated the Himalayan nation and China's Tibet, tourism officials said on Thursday.
The tally of foreigners missing in Tibet's Gyirong county was 260, state broadcaster CCTV said, but nationality details were not immediately available.
Here are nations whose tourists are missing in Nepal:
INDIA: Neighbouring India had the highest number of missing with 178, Nepal's tourism board said.
UNITED STATES: At least 65 U.S. citizens are missing, the Nepal tourism board said.
MALAYSIA: At least 55 nationals reported to Malaysia's embassy in Kathmandu are uncontactable, its foreign ministry said on Thursday. Nepal's tourism board put the number of missing at 51.
UKRAINE: 53 Ukrainians were missing in the flood, authorities said.
AUSTRALIA: The number of Australian citizens who are untraceable is at 35, the tourism board said. Earlier on Thursday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government was working with Nepal to locate missing citizens.
BRITAIN: There were 33 British citizens missing after the disaster, the Nepal tourism board said.
CANADA: The missing include 25 Canadians, the board said.
SOUTH KOREA: Nine South Koreans working in a hydropower plant were missing and 10 were stranded, South Korea's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
SINGAPORE: Nine Singapore citizens were missing, the board said.
GERMANY: At least eight Germans were among the missing, the board said.
RUSSIA: Eight Russians were among the missing, the Nepal tourism board said.
SOUTH AFRICA: Six South Africans were untraceable after the flood on Wednesday, authorities in Nepal said.
LATVIA: Six Latvians were also among those missing, according to the release by the Nepal tourism board.
JAPAN: Japan's embassy in Nepal asked for a search to locate five citizens it was unable to contact, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on X.
NEW ZEALAND: At least five tourists from New Zealand were among the missing, Nepal said.
Also missing since Wednesday are citizens of Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazhakstan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, the Phillipines, Portugal, Spain, Serbia, Switzerland, and Sweden, Nepal's tourism board said in its statement.
UK offers £5m to Nepal following country’s devastating flash floods
Thursday 27 August 2026 10:47 , Dan Haygarth
The UK has offered £5m to help the Nepalese government amid a “very distressing and devastating situation” following the country’s flash floods, the prime minister has said.
More than 30 British nationals are among hundreds of people missing and feared dead as rescue efforts continued on Thursday.
Andy Burnham told reporters an offer had also been made for emergency responders to head to the affected area.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 165 bodies have so far been recovered following flooding in the Rasuwa district, which borders China’s autonomous region of Tibet.
Two teenagers, a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, are among the 33 British nationals believed to be unaccounted for, as the total number of missing people rose from 403 to 826.
Satellite images show scale of devastation from Nepal floods
Thursday 27 August 2026 10:43 , Dan Haygarth
Satellite images have captured the horrifying scale of the devastation caused by the flash floods in Nepal.
The floods on Wednesday occurred when a part of a Himalayan glacier broke away and crashed hundreds of metres down into a valley.
The floods swept away several towns and villages, killed at least 165 people and left nearly 1,500, including 800 foreigners, missing in Nepal and across the border in China’s Tibet region.
Read more and view the images:
Satellite images show scale of devastation from Nepal floods
Watch: Terrifying CCTV shows people fleeing seconds before floodwaters engulf Nepal-China border crossing
Thursday 27 August 2026 10:36 , Dan Haygarth
Global warming could cause more glacier collapses, scientist says
Thursday 27 August 2026 10:20 , Dan Haygarth
Simon Cook, a senior lecturer in energy environment and security at the University of Dundee, told the BBC that a colleague of his looking at satellite imagery noticed that a lower part of a glacier close to the flooded areas was missing.
This indicated there has been "some kind of ice avalanche or glacier collapse", he said.
Mr Cook explained: "I think some people thought this was an earthquake that triggered an avalanche, but there’s a seismologist on our team who is convinced that it was actually the collapsed glacier hitting the valley bottom. That tells you the sheer magnitude of the event," he adds.
He added: "But when you look at the pattern of these events, you do think climate change could have an impact.”
Mr Cook said that global warming could cause the thawing of the permafrost, which is partly holds some mountainsides together.
This can lead to more landslides and glacier collapses, as it “destabilises these high mountain environments", he said.
BREAKING: Number of bodies recovered rises to 270
Thursday 27 August 2026 10:09 , Dan Haygarth
A total of 270 bodies have been found by authorities in Nepal after a torrential flood swept through the Himalayan border areas of the country and China's Tibet, Nepal's police said in a post on X on Thursday.
Is it safe to travel to Nepal?
Thursday 27 August 2026 10:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
More than a thousand people are feared missing, including at least 33 UK tourists, after devastating flash floods tore through villages on the Nepal-Tibet border, killing 165 people.
A 13-year-old girl is among the British tourists who are unaccounted for after catastrophic flooding likely caused by a glacial collapse in the Himalayas, which engulfed entire villages in Nepal’s Rasuwa region.
The mountainous area is popular with hikers and trekkers from around the world as well as pilgrims who cross the Himalayas on journeys to sacred sites such as Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in Tibet.
More here.
Is it safe to travel to Nepal? Tourist hotspot hit by devastating flash floods
Survivors of Nepal flash floods describe being hit by ‘wall of water’
Thursday 27 August 2026 09:46 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
When Rajendra Dhungana felt the ground shake beneath his feet on Wednesday morning, he thought an earthquake had struck the Himalayan country.
The chief customs officer in Nepal’s Rasuwa district ran outside and what he saw coming towards the local Timure bazaar stopped him in his tracks.
It was not an earthquake but a wall of water and debris.
More here.
Survivors of Nepal flood describe ‘wall of water’: ‘My wife is beneath the mud’
Whole villages 'have disappeared' says aid group
Thursday 27 August 2026 09:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Yesterday's flash flood near the Tibet border tore through the entire river valley in minutes, says Suraj Sigdel, Mercy Corps Nepal director.
The flash floods swept away homes, markets, roads, and bridges and leaving a path of near-total destruction, forcing people to run for higher ground, abandoning everything.
"Hundreds are now stranded on isolated hillsides and some have taken refuge in caves. Families are terrified, exhausted, and still trying to learn whether missing relatives and neighbours are alive," he said.
“In places, whole settlements have disappeared. Communities that were connected yesterday are now cut off by kilometres of missing roads and collapsed bridges. The immediate priorities are urgent medical care, safe shelter, clean water, food, and essential supplies to survivors. “
100 missing Indian visitors, 25 Chinese workers located
Thursday 27 August 2026 09:10 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Nepali authorities are saying that they have been able to locate some of the missing tourists.
About 100 missing Indian visitors and 25 Chinese workers have been located by rescuers in Nepal after a catastrophic flood struck the border areas of the Himalayan nation and China's Tibet, authorities said this afternoon.
Nepal yet to establish contact with 644 missing tourists
Thursday 27 August 2026 09:01 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Nepal's tourism department has told the BBC that it was still out of contact with 644 missing tourists following yesterday's devastating flash floods.
Thirty-three British nationals, 53 Ukrainians, 51 Malaysians, 65 Americans, 35 Australians, 178 Indians and 127 Nepali tourists are missing, spokesperson Sunil Sharma said.
100 Chinese nationals missing in Nepal, says Beijing
Thursday 27 August 2026 08:46 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
China's foreign ministry is addressing the Nepal floods at a press conference right now.
Spokesperson Lin Jian said nearly 100 Chinese nationals were missing in Nepal in the area affected by a massive mudslide and flooding.
Missing foreigners on the Chinese side include tourists, pilgrims and other personnel, and China is in close communication with Nepal on search and rescue while informing relevant embassies of the situation, the spokesperson added.
What triggered Nepal flash floods? Glacier collapse so powerful it registered as an earthquake
Thursday 27 August 2026 08:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The United States Geological Survey initially recorded a magnitude 4.4 earthquake along the Nepal-China border, north of Kathmandu, at about 8.37am local time yesterday, before revising its assessment in a statement issued that evening.
It said the seismic signal had come from "a glacial collapse and debris flow" rather than a tectonic quake, and that the collapse alone had caused the catastrophic flooding downstream.
Once reclassified, the event registered at magnitude 5.2, a measure of the force of the ice and rock striking the valley floor rather than of any movement underground.
More here.
Nepal flash floods triggered by glacier collapse that registered as earthquake
Army deploys over 5,000 troops for rescue
Thursday 27 August 2026 08:35 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
More than 5,000 army and police rescue personnel joined the rescue effort that retrieved 125 people this morning, including 20 foreigners, Raja Ram Basnet, a spokesperson for Nepal's army.
In the hardest-hit districts, helicopters are dropping tents, food and other emergency supplies provided by neighbouring India.
Nepal's prime minister Balendra Shah left by road for Bidur in one of the worst affected districts of Nuwakot, to assess the flood situation, his office said on social media.
UK will ‘do everything to help’ Nepalese authorities in wake of flash floods
Thursday 27 August 2026 08:20 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A government minister has said he expects the death toll to rise as he says the UK will “do everything to help” Nepalese authorities in the wake of flash flooding.
Work and pensions minister Pat McFadden said he was “struck by the incredible power of nature” when he saw the scenes of the flash flooding on Wednesday.
He said he expected the number of those killed or missing to go up, since the government hasn’t “heard much from the Chinese authorities”, where flooding has also occurred.
“We'll do everything to help the Nepalese authorities in their rescue efforts, and a number of other countries will be in the same position with people missing and offering help to the Nepalese authorities who are coping with a very, very difficult situation on the ground right now,” he told BBC Breakfast.
Watch: Nepal police urge public to ignore flood rumours as death toll hits 165
Thursday 27 August 2026 08:05 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
India sends second flight with aid to Nepal
Thursday 27 August 2026 08:02 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A second Indian Air Force aircraft carrying 37.5 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including food packets and medicines, has taken off for the flood-affected victims of Nepal.
"India remains in close and continuous touch with the Nepalese authorities. We will continue to strongly support the ongoing relief efforts," Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar wrote on X.
A second flight has just taken off, carrying 37.5 tonnes of HADR material, medicines & food packets for Nepal.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 27, 2026
India remains in close and continuous touch with the Nepalese authorities. We will continue to strongly support the ongoing relief efforts.
🇮🇳🇳🇵 pic.twitter.com/4m46leqfkC
Chinese state media releases video of rescue operation in Tibet
Thursday 27 August 2026 07:20 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Rescue teams are reaching stranded villagers in flood-hit Longzhou County, south China's Guangxi, using assault boats and a powered pontoon bridge to transfer people to safety. #China #Flood #Rescue #Guangxi #OnTheGround pic.twitter.com/vFOi8wAFYz
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 27, 2026
Nepal flash floods mapped: Where deadly floods hit along Tibet border
Thursday 27 August 2026 07:10 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Police in Nepal said they expect the death toll, already above 160, to rise further as search teams reach areas cut off since yesterday.
More here.
Nepal flash floods mapped: Where deadly floods hit along Tibet border
Nepal deploys 2,000 troops for rescue
Thursday 27 August 2026 06:55 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The Nepali army has deployed 2,000 military personnel for search and rescue operations in the area affected by the flash floods.
In the hardest-hit districts, helicopters this morning were dropping tents, food and other emergency supplies provided by neighbouring India, according to Raja Ram Basnet, a spokesperson for Nepal's army.
The Nepali troops have been deployed in areas including Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts.
Death toll rises to 165 as 1,300 missing in Nepal and Tibet
Thursday 27 August 2026 06:40 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Rescue teams were searching 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 glacial collapse.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority in Nepal said 826 people were missing and the death toll from the country's flash floods rose to 165.
Nepalese authorities ramped up operations in the worst-affected districts of Nuwakot and Rasuwa.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV separately reported that 260 of the 558 missing people in Tibet were foreigners and two villagers were rescued. At least three people were killed as of this morning, it said.
Man recalls how he clung to tree for survival during deadly flash floods
Thursday 27 August 2026 06:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Bibek Kumal, a 24-year-old Nepali labourer, was digging a 1.5 m deep toilet pit beside a newly constructed house when he heard a distinct hissing sound. Seconds later, a torrent of mud, water and rock tore through the site, sweeping him and everything nearby away.
Working in Bidur, downstream from the severely impacted Rasuwa district near Nepal's border with Tibet, Kumal was warned by four co-workers standing above who shouted at him to run. By the time he managed to scramble out, his colleagues had already fled.
"I started running. Then a wall of water came thundering down as if it was an earthquake," Kumal said from his bed at Kathmandu's National Trauma Centre, his brother Dinesh sitting beside him.
More here.
Nepali man recalls how he clung to mango tree for survival during deadly flash floods
Widespread destruction caused by flash floods
Thursday 27 August 2026 06:18 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Officials fear only "1% chance" of survival for missing
Thursday 27 August 2026 06:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
An official with a tourism agency operating in the area feared that there was a very slim chance of survival of the foreign nationals missing in the flash floods.
Officials in Nepal earlier said 403 people, including 341 foreigners, were reported missing. About 133 were from India, 47 from the US, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 24 from Canada were among the missing.
Chief Executive Sagar Pandey of Himalayan Glacier, a tourism agency operating in the area, confirmed 15 of the missing Australians were on a religious tour to Mount Kailash that it was organising.
The group also included people from India, the US, Canada and Singapore.
They were planning to enter Tibet and go to Mount Kailash and (Lake) Manasarovar, which is one of the holiest landmarks on earth, he said.
Pandey said he had flown over the flood zone by helicopter and believed there was only a "1% chance" of survival.
US pledges $500,000 in emergency aid for Nepal
Thursday 27 August 2026 05:47 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The US has pledged $500,000 in emergency aid for Nepal after devastating flash floods killed at least 160 people.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio in a post on X added: “We express our solidarity and are united in prayer for the Nepali people following the devastating floods.
"At least 47 Americans were among hundreds of foreign tourists reported missing following yesterday's flash floods.
British girl, 13, among 33 UK tourists feared missing after Nepal flash floods
Thursday 27 August 2026 05:42 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A 13-year-old British girl and 32 other people from the UK are feared missing, and more than 160 people were killed when a huge wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the border of Nepal and Tibet, sending flash floods through villages.
Rescuers in Nepal have recovered 157 bodies, while hundreds of people, including two Irish nationals, are also still unaccounted for. At least three people in China were killed.
More here.
Girl, 13, among UK tourists feared missing after Nepal flash floods
Victims swept away in flood during pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar
Thursday 27 August 2026 05:15 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Many of the victims were making a pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar, a high-altitude site in Tibet revered by Hindus and Buddhists among others, when the flood swept through the Nepal-Tibet border yesterday.
Mount Kailash, which Hindus believe to be the abode of Lord Shiva, lies on the banks of Lake Mansarovar, also held sacred in various religions.
China's official Xinhua news agency said the mudslide hit the Gyirong port, cutting roads, communications and power links in the border region of Shigatse.
Pilgrims use the land port to enter Tibet from Nepal.
A rescuer told state broadcaster CCTV of fruitless attempts to make contact with the Gyirong border port, saying: "So far there haven't been any results."
Survivor describes moment flood swept away his wife
Thursday 27 August 2026 05:05 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Survivor Keshav Prasad Baral described the scene when the flood hit as a "huge gush of mud coming straight towards us".
"As it got closer, it kept rising higher and higher. When I saw it enter our home, I tried to grab my wife's hand and take her to the terrace. But she was swept away by the mud," the 68-year-old survivor said.
A helicopter ferried him to safety four hours later. "My wife is still somewhere beneath the mud," he added. "She's gone.
"Another survivor said he saved himself by clinging to a mango tree as he watched the house where he had been working disappear.
