RismadarVoice Reporters
September 3, 2026
Nepal will need to rebuild about 20,000 homes in areas devastated by last week’s catastrophic floods and landslides, authorities said on Thursday, as rescue teams continued searching for thousands of missing people, including workers trapped inside hydropower tunnels.
The disaster, triggered after a glacier collapse on August 26 sent a powerful wave of ice, rocks and mud through Nepal’s border region with China, destroyed settlements and left many communities without habitable homes.
Dharma Raj Upreti, chief of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, said preliminary assessments showed that about 7,500 houses had been destroyed after being washed away or buried under debris.
Authorities said many buildings that remained standing were unsafe, leading to the estimate that around 20,000 houses would need to be reconstructed in safer locations.
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told foreign ambassadors in Kathmandu that rebuilding efforts would require significant resources.
At least 1,252 people have been confirmed dead in Nepal following the disaster, while more than 4,200 others remain missing. Thousands of residents have also been displaced from affected communities.
China reported 21 deaths and 541 missing people in Tibet, where the floods also caused widespread damage.
Nepal’s government has declared September 7 a national day of mourning, marking the 13th day after the disaster, a significant period in Hindu mourning traditions.
SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS CONTINUE
More than 9,300 Nepal Army personnel have been deployed across affected areas, including Timure in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan and Nawalparasi East, to support rescue operations, recover bodies, clear blocked roads and provide emergency medical assistance.
Search teams from Nepal, India, South Korea and China are continuing efforts to locate people believed to be trapped inside tunnels linked to hydropower projects.
Nepal Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet said two bodies had been recovered from the tunnel of the Langtang Khola hydropower plant.
At least 583 foreign nationals, including pilgrims and trekkers, were also reported missing in the aftermath of the floods.
Australia has pledged additional support and agreed to share telecommunications data with Nepali authorities to assist search efforts. China has also provided further aid, including tents, blankets, medical protective equipment and satellite communication devices.
CLIMATE CHANGE CONCERNS
Nepal’s government has linked the scale of the disaster to climate change, with Foreign Minister Khanal saying the country contributes little to global emissions but faces severe consequences from rising temperatures in the Himalayan region.
“Nepal contributes a negligible share of global emissions, yet our people bear a disproportionate burden of the impacts of a warming Himalayas,” Khanal said.
EFFORTS TO RESTORE EDUCATION
Authorities are working to restore normal life, including reopening schools for thousands of children affected by the disaster.
The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said more than 22,000 children urgently require access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene support.
Officials are considering temporary learning centres as many school buildings were destroyed or damaged.
Rajendra Dawadi, a school headmaster who helped evacuate about 900 students before floods struck, said authorities were searching for safer locations where classes could resume.
Residents who lost homes and businesses have called on the government to relocate communities away from high-risk areas rather than rebuilding in the same vulnerable locations.
