Overview
- The flash flood struck on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, when a sudden surge entered the Bhote Koshi from the Tibetan side and swept through Rasuwa, Timure and Syapru Besi before flowing into the Trishuli system.
- Authorities have confirmed at least eight deaths while the Nepal Tourism Board’s preliminary list reports 384 travellers unaccounted for, including roughly 105 Indian nationals, and scores of security personnel remain missing; all figures are provisional and are being verified.
- Search-and-rescue teams from the Nepal Army, police and Armed Police Force have deployed helicopters, drones and sniffer dogs but high water and damaged roads and bridges have severely limited access to the worst-hit areas.
- The Nepal Electricity Authority said at least six major hydropower and transmission installations were damaged, causing widespread power disruption and cutting a strategic trade link at Rasuwagadhi that handles Nepal–Tibet crossings.
- Investigations are under way into the upstream trigger — officials are examining possibilities such as a glacial lake outburst, landslide or avalanche after Chinese reports of a mudslide in Gyirong — and downstream alerts and international offers of aid have been issued as river levels are monitored.