Nepal warns of fresh flash flood risk as death toll reaches 469

Kathmandu,UPDATED: Aug 28, 2026 13:30 IST

Nepal has issued a fresh warning over the risk of another flash flood after water levels rose at a lake formed by avalanches near the country’s border with Tibet. The alert came on Friday as the death toll from the flood-related devastation climbed to 469, with search and rescue operations continuing for a third day and nearly 1,000 people still missing.

The warning followed the massive flash flood that swept through Rasuwa and other parts of central Nepal on Wednesday, killing hundreds and causing heavy damage to settlements, roads, bridges and hydropower infrastructure. Authorities said conditions at the same site where the earlier flood occurred had worsened again, raising fears of a second wave.

The Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said the rise in water level at the site had increased the danger in the area. “The water level mixed with mud has increased at the same place where the flash flood occurred on Wednesday, and there is a risk of more flooding in the area,” the NDRRMA said in a fresh notice. It urged people involved in search and rescue work, as well as those staying in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli areas for various reasons, to remain highly alert and move to safer places immediately if they faced any risk.

Nepal Police also issued an alert after receiving information that a water dam on the Tibetan side had burst again. “Information has been received that the water dam on the Tibetan side has burst again,” Nepal Police said in a post on X. In a statement, the police said more bodies had been recovered from eight districts, while three people were killed in neighbouring Tibet.

According to police figures, 178 bodies have been recovered from Chitwan, 110 from Nawalparasi East, 44 from Gorkha, 37 from Nuwakot and 33 from Dhading district. Another 28 bodies have been recovered from Tanahu, 27 from Nawalparasi West and 12 from Rasuwa. At least 977 people, including 86 security personnel, 517 foreign tourists and 127 Nepali travellers, have been missing since Wednesday morning, when the flash floods hit Rasuwa and adjoining districts.

So far, 1,545 injured and stranded people have been rescued from affected regions. Of them, 84 are undergoing treatment in hospitals in Kathmandu, where families are searching for their loved ones. Search and rescue operations continued with 7,451 security personnel, including 2,391 Nepal Army personnel, according to the police statement. Helicopters have been used to reach isolated areas and evacuate survivors, while ground teams continue searching riverbanks and downstream settlements, The Kathmandu Post reported.

Meanwhile, the Nepal government has decided to halt all examinations from August 29 in view of the situation caused by the disaster. China also sounded a Level-IV alert late on Thursday, saying a large barrier lake had formed near the confluence of the Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers in Nepal. China’s emergency response system for natural disasters has four levels, with Level-I being the highest and Level IV the lowest.

On Thursday, Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology had warned of a fresh flood risk downstream of the Bhotekoshi River after a new barrier lake formed near the Nepal-China border. Chinese authorities told Nepal that around 2 million cubic metres of water had accumulated in the lake, with another 3 million cubic metres likely to enter it over three days, raising concerns about a possible breach. The lake formed near the confluence of the Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers, which originate in Tibet and flow into Nepal as part of the Bhotekoshi river system. The fresh warning on Friday underlined fears of more flooding even as rescue efforts continued and the toll from the disaster kept rising.

With PTI Inputs

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