Nepal braces for fresh floods as death toll exceeds 900, thousands still missing

On Wednesday, high in the Himalayan peaks, bedrock beneath a glacier gave way. The collapse registered as a magnitude 5.2 earthquake. Rock and meltwater surged down the valleys below, swelling rivers into torrents that swept away buildings, bridges, and earth across Tibet and Nepal. By Monday, the confirmed death toll had reached 903 in Nepal alone, with Chinese authorities reporting 16 additional deaths on their side of the border. But the true scope of the disaster remained unknowable: 4,247 people were missing in Nepal, and 261 foreigners were unaccounted for in Tibet, including over a hundred Nepalis and visitors from around the world who had come to work, trek, or make pilgrimage to sacred peaks.

The immediate danger had not passed. Early Sunday morning, residents of flood-affected districts received fresh warnings on their phones. Water levels in the Bhotekoshi River were rising again. Chinese authorities had detected increased flow upstream and alerted their Nepalese counterparts. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority issued new evacuation notices, sending people scrambling to higher ground once more.

For those still in the affected villages, the cycle of alarms had become its own form of catastrophe. Govind Shreshta, a resident of one flooded area, described the exhaustion of repeated flight. "Sometimes they say a flood is coming, then we have to run again to higher ground, even at night. There is also rain," he said. "It's really difficult for me. I have a 72-year-old father and 70-year-old mom. I must carry them and I am exhausted. It's going on like this for those who are still alive." In Dhading, one of the regions hardest hit, some residents had begun returning to their destroyed homes to salvage what remained. They moved through houses with walls washed away, shoveling mud and rubble from balconies and window frames, searching the ground for anything that could be rinsed clean. One man returned to find his chickens alive; he tied them up and placed them in his truck's cabin. Sharmila Tamang, also from Dhading, stood in what had been her home and told reporters simply: "Everything is finished. Nothing is left. Not even our home."

The infrastructure damage extended beyond individual dwellings. A major power plant that served over 20,000 people across four districts had been severely damaged. Workers began inspecting the facility Sunday to assess the full extent of destruction. A key highway connecting Kathmandu to one of the worst-affected areas remained partially blocked as rescue teams worked to clear it.

Among the missing were 85 Americans, according to U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott. Nine had been safely evacuated, he said, and the department was unaware of any American deaths at that time. The State Department had activated $3.6 million in emergency humanitarian assistance, including provisions for up to three months of food for as many as 10,000 households. A disaster response advisor was already on the ground, coordinating with Nepal's government to determine what additional help could be delivered given the challenging conditions.

Nepal's foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, used the moment to call for global action on climate change. "Despite having only 0.1% contribution to the global emissions, people of Nepal have become major victims of climate change," he said Saturday. Scientists who examined satellite imagery confirmed that bedrock collapse had triggered the initial disaster, though they cautioned it was premature to draw a direct line from global warming to this specific event. However, they noted that as Earth's temperature rises from human activities—burning fossil fuels—the frequency of such catastrophes increases, particularly in the Himalayan region, which is warming faster than most other parts of the world.

International assistance began to mobilize. Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced Sunday that his country would send a search-and-rescue team to Nepal and pledged $1 million in financial aid. The disaster had exposed Nepal's vulnerability to a hazard that climate science suggests will only intensify, even as the nation bears a fraction of the responsibility for the emissions driving global warming.