RismadarVoice Reporters
August 28, 2026
Nepal and China have temporarily suspended rescue operations in the Himalayan border region after a barrier lake formed by Wednesday’s devastating flash flood began overflowing, raising fears of another surge downstream.
Chinese rescue teams and vehicles were forced to move to safer ground as the risk of the lake bursting increased, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Nepalese authorities also temporarily halted search operations for about 90 minutes, according to a Nepalese army officer.
The barrier lake was created when huge quantities of mud and debris swept down a steep valley during the disaster, blocking the flow of a river and trapping water behind the debris.
The disaster was triggered by a collapse involving a glacier and rock, sending a massive torrent of ice, water, rocks and mud through valleys along the Nepal-Tibet border. Villages were buried while roads, bridges and hydropower facilities were destroyed.
Chinese authorities said the volume of water in the barrier lake had increased to more than 2.5 million cubic metres by Friday, compared with an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million cubic metres a day earlier.
Officials in Nepal’s Rasuwa district, which borders Tibet, received warnings that the lake had begun breaking its banks. District administrator Narendra Pariyar said river levels were rising, although the potential size of any resulting surge remained unclear.
Residents in affected areas were reportedly seen moving towards higher ground amid concerns that another wave of flooding could hit communities already devastated by the initial disaster.
The death toll from the disaster has surpassed 470. Nepal’s prime minister’s office reported 469 confirmed deaths on Friday, while 977 people remained missing. About 1,550 people had been rescued.
In Tibet, Chinese authorities reported at least five deaths and 558 people missing.
The disaster has affected more than 90,000 people, according to the Red Cross. Rescue teams have used helicopters and ground operations to reach survivors, but destroyed roads have left some communities isolated.
About 800 people have reportedly been rescued by helicopter and another 700 by land, while air operations have also been used to deliver essential supplies.
China has deployed about 500 military and paramilitary personnel to the affected region and sent Premier Li Qiang to oversee rescue operations. Nepal has deployed about 30,000 security personnel to search remote and inaccessible valleys.
Relief efforts have been further complicated by the overflowing barrier lake, which has blocked the delivery of supplies to some affected communities.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned of the risk posed by a secondary flood as authorities continued monitoring the rapidly changing conditions.
