More Than 1,300 Missing After Torrent Sweeps Away
Villages in Nepal and Tibet
At least 160 people were killed when floods tore
through a Himalayan river valley between Nepal and the Tibet region of China,
the authorities said.
Published Aug. 26, 2026
Updated Aug. 27, 2026, 2:12 a.m. ET
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08/26/world/nepal-floods
Pinned
Binod GhimireLeo Sands and Lily Kuo
A giant
torrent of mud, water and ice that began high in the Himalayas tore a
devastating path through a mountain valley on the border between Nepal and
Tibet on Wednesday, smashing buildings and sweeping away fleeing people caught
by surprise by its speed and destructive force.
At least
160 people were killed and hundreds more were missing after the flood, which
snapped bridges into pieces and pulled multistory structures off their
foundations. The deluge also engulfed dozens of men, women and children who
were overtaken as they tried to run. The death toll was expected to rise.
Initial
assessments by geologists and glaciologists indicated that an enormous chunk of
ice — possibly a half-mile wide — had snapped off a glacier at an altitude of
17,000 feet and tumbled thousands of feet into a river valley below. Scientists
studying the disaster said the impact registered as the equivalent of a
5.2-magnitude earthquake and crushed the ice into a fast-moving mix of water,
ice and rock that pulverized everything in its path.
Officials
in Nepal reported 157 deaths. Chinese officials reported only three deaths in
the Tibet region of China, but the Chinese state news agency Xinhua said there
had been “significant” casualties at the Gyirong port of entry, at the border
with Nepal.
Surveillance
footage circulating on social media and verified by The New York Times shows
crowds running up a road near the port before torrents of water and thick
clouds engulf the parking lot and surrounding buildings, destroying the area.
“The
bottom looks like a bomb exploded — it’s just deposits from the broken-up
glacier,” said Daniel Shugar, a geologist at the University of Calgary in
Canada who studied satellite imagery to analyze what happened. He said other
factors may have also contributed to the landslide.
Almost
400 foreign tourists were missing in Nepal, the country’s tourism board said in
a statement. They included more than 130 people from India, 47 from the United
States, 34 from Australia, 33 Britons, 24 from Canada and 19 Malaysians.
Citizens from the Netherlands and South Africa were also among the missing.
Thousands
of people live in riverside settlements downstream from the flooding, including
along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers in the Rasuwa district. The
authorities have not estimated the number of people missing and the extent of
damage but said that bridges, schools and hydropower projects had been swept
away.
Here’s
what else we’re covering:
- Initial Assessment: A
preliminary analysis of satellite imagery indicates that an ice avalanche
set off the flooding, said Simon Cook, a glaciologist at the University of
Dundee in Scotland who is part of a team of scientists studying the
disaster. According to their initial assessment, he said, a large chunk of
ice broke off from a high-altitude glacier and tumbled thousands of feet
toward the Bhote Koshi River in Nepal, releasing vast amounts of energy
that pulverized the ice into a significant volume of flood water. Read
more ›
- Destruction in China: Footage
released by Chinese state media shows surging waters overwhelming
buildings at the Gyirong port, taking out trees and making roads
impassable. Read
more ›
- Rescue Effort: Security
teams led by the Nepali Army have been carrying out rescue operations,
airlifting at least 114 people to safety. The army has mobilized 12
helicopters, set up a temporary hospital in the flood zone and evacuated
at least 25 seriously injured people to Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital.
- Nepal’s Government: The
disaster adds to the woes of Nepal’s recently elected government, and its
36-year-old prime minister, Balendra Shah, who swept to power on the back
of a youth-led protest
movement last year.
Pei-Lin
Wu and Alex Travelli contributed reporting from Taipei.
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