Summary

  1. Families in India awaiting news of loved onespublished at 04:40 BST

    Vikas Pandey
    Reporting from Delhi

    It’s a public holiday in India, but the mood across the country is sombre.

    Hundreds of Indians, many of whom were in Nepal on pilgrimage, remain missing.

    Their families are anxious and desperate for news. That sense of anguish is reflected in newspaper headlines and across social media, where families have been posting videos appealing for information about their loved ones.

    As rescue operations continue in Nepal, many are clinging to hope that their relatives will be found.

  2. The economic impact of bridges swept away in Nepalpublished at 04:18 BST

    Peter Hoskins
    Business reporter, Singapore

    A local resident rides a motorcycle on the remains of a bridge swept away by floodwaters in Nuwakot, Nepal, on 26 August, 2026.Image source, Sunil Pradhan/Anadolu via Getty Images

    As well as the tragic human cost of this natural disaster, the devastating flooding has also dealt a fresh blow to Nepal's new government and its efforts to shore up the country's finances.

    When Balendra Shah became prime minister in March this year, he inherited a host of issues, not least a stuttering economy heavily reliant on foreign aid, money being sent home by Nepalis working abroad and imports from its much larger neighbours China and India.

    The country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority says 80 bridges and 40km (24.8 miles) of paved roads have been damaged by the deluge.

    The flood-hit region is along the border with China, which means that many of those roads and bridges were key to moving goods to and from Nepal's second-largest trading partner.

    This presents authorities with not only the huge task of rebuilding key infrastructure but also the impact of serious disruptions to the flow of goods crucial to the country's economy.

  3. Rescues offer hope to desperate families of the missingpublished at 03:58 BST

    Azadeh Moshiri
    Reporting from Trishuli, Nepal

    There are warnings of more possible flooding in northern Nepal as rescuers search for survivors of a flash flood that has killed at least 469 people in the country.

    Roads are caked in mud in Trishuli, with some vehicles half-buried.

    Police barricades block off entry to some of the worst-affected areas near the river beds, with warnings of more possible flooding to come.

    The casualty figures continue to rise, in what has become the worst disaster Nepal has seen since an earthquake in 2015.

    This time experts believe a glacier collapsing could have triggered the flooding.

    Helicopters are still flying over the mountains, searching for survivors, and delivering relief supplies.

    Hundreds of people have been rescued, including most of the 450 people trapped in a tunnel in Trishuli.

    Rescue efforts continue, and moments like these offer hope to the families we meet who are desperately waiting for news of their loved ones.

  4. Death toll jumps to 469published at 03:50 BST
    Breaking

    The death toll has risen to 469, Nepal police have said.

    We will bring you more on this story as updates become available.

  5. Nepal wakes again to mud and debrispublished at 03:43 BST

    A man stands on the ruins of a house as a river flows beside it.Image source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    On the banks of the Trishuli river in Nuwakot district, a man surveys the damage from the flash floods

    People work to clear debris around the ruins of houses.Image source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Debris is strewn around houses in the affected areas

    The muddy streets of Trishuli are pictured as mist hangs on the hillside in the distance.Image source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    The disaster damaged homes in Trishuli

  6. Chinese state media says 555 tourists evacuated from Tibetpublished at 03:33 BST

    China's Xinhua news agency has just reported that authorities have evacuated 555 stranded tourists from Tibet.

    Information has trickled out of Tibet since the floods hit earlier this week, largely due to China's tight media controls. We do not know if these figures overlap with data from the Nepal side.

    The Xinhua report did not specify the nationalities of the evacuees. India, Australia and the US have said that their nationals are among those missing in the disaster.

  7. What caused the Nepal-Tibet flash floods?published at 03:21 BST

    Tessa Wong
    Asia Digital Reporter

    The US Geological Survey says the floods at the Nepal-Tibet border were triggered by a "glacial collapse" - meaning a glacier or part of a glacier had disintegrated. Initial reports led authorities to believe that an earthquake had been the cause.

    The cause of the glacial collapse has not been determined, but scientists have warned that Himalayan glaciers are melting at an accelerating rate due to rising temperatures and climate change.

    Read more on this story here.

  8. Scientists exploring role of climate change in devastating floodspublished at 03:05 BST

    Daniel Shugar, a geologist at the University of Calgary in Canada, was one of the first scientists to suggest Wednesday's flash flooding event could have been caused by glacial activity.

    As we have reported, it was initially believed that the flooding was caused by an earthquake-triggered landslide. However, the US Geological Survey has since confirmed there was no tremor, and the seismic event was instead a collapsing glacier.

    Speaking to the BBC, Shugar says more events of this kind have taken place in the past decade than previously, which is more than likely a result of climate change.

    He explained that warming-induced glacial thinning can reduce the support glaciers provide to the valley walls above them, which in turn increases the likelihood of landslides.

    While Shugar says it is still too early to definitively link this flash flooding event to climate change, it is "certainly something my colleagues and others around the world are looking at".

    A man with black glasses and a green floral shirt speaks to the camera.
  9. 'We just love them a lot and want them to come home'published at 02:44 BST

    Shreya and Ashna Ahuja
    Image caption,

    Shreya and Ashna Ahuja's parents travelled from Texas to Mount Kailash on a pilgrimage

    We've been speaking to people who have friends and family in Nepal, with some fearing the worst - here's a round-up of those we've heard from so far:

    "To be honest I believe that they’re not there anymore," says Pramod Poudel, whose wife, mum, uncle and brother have been reported missing.

    “We’ve got to accept what happened because it’s obviously not only my family,” Poudel, who runs the Mo Mo Nepalese street food company in Sussex, adds.

    Meanwhile, Kavya Koulagi Jayatheertha, whose uncle Prabhath Sajeepa is missing on a journey to the Kailash Yathra, a sacred pilgrimage for Hindus, told the BBC it has been "the most devastating news".

    "It has been terrible. I hope he is somewhere safe," his niece says. "We are hoping for good news."

    Sisters Ashna and Shreya Ahuja are desperately waiting for news of their parents after flash floods struck Nepal.

    “It’s only been one day, but it has felt like much longer,” the sisters tell the BBC. “We just love them a lot and want them to come home.”

    Experienced mountaineer Alan Hinkes has previously witnessed flash floods in Nepal, but says he couldn't believe how "explosive" and "violent" Wednesday's disaster was.

    "To that force, I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like that for a long time," he told BBC Breakfast.

  10. Surviving family members escaped by 'crawling like a baby', says Nepalese manpublished at 02:28 BST

    Barun Lamichhane stands outside wearing a white sweatshirt

    A Nepalese man living in Aberdeen tells the BBC how he lost three close family members in the deadly flash floods that hit his home country on Wednesday.

    Barun Lamichhane, 26, says his brother, uncle and cousin all died in the disaster - but that his mother, father and grandmother managed to escape.

    Lamichhane says they managed to get away by "crawling like a baby" into the hillside.

    "Luckily they are alive," he says, adding he "can't express" the pain he is feeling about those who have died.

    Read more on this story here.

  11. Lake formed now at 'high risk' of bursting banks - Chinese state mediapublished at 02:17 BST

    We have been reporting that risks of new flooding persist on the Nepal-Tibet border, further complicating rescue efforts.

    Now, Chinese state news agency Xinhua has said that a lake formed after the flash floods is at "high risk of breaching and sending floodwaters downstream', according to the AFP news agency.

    Forecasts suggest "inflows into the lake could reach about 3 million cubic meters (3bn litres) over the next three days amid continued rainfall" - the equivalent of 1,200 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

    This could "potentially cause further damage in areas including Gyirong Port and elsewhere downstream", the state news agency added.

  12. Almost 48 hours since deadly flash flood - a timelinepublished at 02:00 BST

    On Wednesday morning, a huge surge of mud and water swept down from the Nepal-Tibet border, leaving destruction in its path. Since then, the number of dead and missing has climbed, with rescue efforts made more challenging by fears of a second flood.

    This is how the last nearly 48 hours have developed:

    Wednesday

    08:37 local time in Nepal (02:52 GMT): A magnitude 5.2 seismic event occurs near the Nepal-Tibet border. This was initially thought to be an earthquake, but the US Geological Survey (USGS) has since said it was a glacial collapse.

    The USGS says the flow of debris from the collapse led to "subsequent catastrophic impacts downstream".

    Moments later: A wall of water and other material crashes downstream, taking buildings, roads and vehicles in its wake.

    14:45: Authorities say 384 tourists are missing, including 291 foreign nationals. Nepalese authorities later confirm that 33 Britons are among those missing.

    By 17:00: Nepalese police tells the BBC that at least 17 people have been killed.

    22:45: The Nepalese prime minister's office says search and rescue operations will continue throughout the night, with civilian and military personnel mobilised.

    A shaded relief map of Nepal showing the Himalayan mountain region and major river systems. A red callout box marks the location of a glacier collapse near the Bhote Koshi river in north-eastern Nepal, close to the border with China. The Trishuli river and Kathmandu are labelled, and an arrow indicates the downstream direction towards India. An inset map of Asia highlights Nepal's location.

    Thursday

    By 08:00 local time (00:00 GMT) in Tibet: China says three people were killed on the Tibetan side, while 558 others are missing.

    Shortly after 07:15 (01:30 GMT) in Nepal: Nepalese police say they have recovered 162 bodies so far. This figure has continued to rise throughout the day - and currently stands at 389.

    Mid-morning: The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader who lives in exile from Tibet, says he is praying "for all those who have lost their lives".

    14:00 in Nepal: An update from authorities puts the number of missing people at more than 900, including more than 500 foreign nationals.

    Around 18:30 in Nepal, the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources says it is preparing for the possibility that a lake of rising water that has formed along the China-Nepal border to burst its banks.

    After midnight, Nepal's officials tell the BBC the glacial collapse that caused the flood took place on the Nepali side of the Himalayan mountains, not in Tibet on the Chinese side.

    Friday

    Around 01:00, Nepal's prime minister's office says 350 people have been rescued from a tunnel near the Trishuli river, as the army works to rescue 100 others inside.

    It has just turned 06:45 in Nepal where rescue efforts continue for the hundreds still missing.

  13. BBC Verify

    The deadly path of the Nepal-Tibet flash floodpublished at 01:44 BST

    By Merlyn Thomas

    Using verified videos and satellite imagery, we trace the path of the deadly flash floods that have devastated the Nepal-Tibet border region.

  14. The Nepal disaster is a warning for Indiapublished at 01:32 BST

    Soutik Biswas
    India Correspondent

    A shaded relief map of Nepal showing the Himalayan mountain region and major river systems. A red callout box marks the location of a glacier collapse near the Bhote Koshi river in north-eastern Nepal, close to the border with China. The Trishuli river and Kathmandu are labelled, and an arrow indicates the downstream direction towards India. An inset map of Asia highlights Nepal's location.

    The devastation in Nepal also serves as a warning for India.

    Nepal’s Himalayan rivers feed several major Indian river systems, including the Gandaki and Kosi, as well as the Bagmati, Kamla-Balan and others, before flowing into the densely populated plains of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

    Bihar, India's most flood-prone state, is unusually exposed. Only about 35% of the land that supplies water - through rainfall, streams and smaller rivers - to major north Bihar rivers lies within the state and a lot of the rest is across the border in Nepal and Tibet, according to the government.

    Wednesday's catastrophe - which is said to be caused by a glacial collapse that sent a huge debris-filled surge downstream - shows the risk.

    Floods don't simply carry water: they carry enormous amounts of sediment, raising river beds and threatening embankments. So what begins as a Himalayan disaster could become an Indian flood emergency.

  15. Woman from Berkshire named as one of 33 Britons still missingpublished at 01:02 BST

    A woman from Berkshire has been named as one of the 33 British nationals missing after devastating flash floods in Nepal.

    Fishtail Tours and Travels confirmed Leena Bector, from Slough, was among 27 travellers linked to the tour company who remain unaccounted for.

    Her husband, Bhupesh Bector, told The Times: "I know that she's in Nepal for sure, so even if they find her today or tomorrow, I need to be there."

    In an update on Thursday evening, Nepal Police said 389 bodies had been recovered, while the number of people injured and rescued had risen to 466.

    You can read more in our story here.

  16. 'Looking for my sister through lists of missing people'published at 00:14 BST 28 August

    Gabriela Pomeroy
    Live reporter

    Bhavesh Ramjee wears a blue dress and smiles at the cameraImage source, Bhavesh Ramjee
    Image caption,

    Bavika Ramjee has been out of contact since the flood hit, her brother Bhavesh says

    South African businesswoman Bavika Ramjee was “really excited and thrilled” to go on her first Hindu pilgrimage with the tour group Kailash Journeys.

    “It was life-long ambition,” her brother Bhavesh tells me from his home in East London, "as she is very spiritual and religious."

    But since the tour group reached the border between Nepal and Tibet on the same day the floods hit, they’ve been completely out of contact.

    Bhavesh says in a shaking voice: “We've been contacting the embassy, looking through lists of missing people, trying all avenues to get any information."

    "It's been awful," he says.

  17. Number of Australians missing rises to 39published at 23:46 BST 27 August
    Breaking

    Simon Atkinson
    Australia reporter

    We've had an update from Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong that at least 39 Australians are among those reported missing - up from the 35 we were told yesterday.

    The additional four people were travelling separately to the organised tours we knew about earlier and Senator Wong says there is an "unfortunate possibility" that the number will rise.

    "I know this is an extremely distressing time for those who have loved ones unaccounted for and we are thinking of them," she tells the ABC.

    Australia will send three humanitarian response specialists "within the next 48 hours" to assist Australian staff already there, Wong added in a separate statement. The country has also pledged a A$5m (£2.65m) assistance package for affected communities.

    We know that among the missing Australians are two boys aged 11 and 14 who were travelling with their parents - among 15 Australians on a tour organised by Himalayan Glaciers US. That entire group of 47 is still to be accounted for.

  18. Red Cross volunteers 'on edge' over risk of secondary floodpublished at 23:01 BST 27 August

    David Fisher, head of delegation for the Red Cross in Nepal

    David Fisher, head of delegation for the Red Cross in Nepal, tells BBC News that secondary flood warnings have put people "very much on edge".

    "People of course remain in shock from this terrible, terrible disaster," he says.

    Asked how it is impacting relief planning, he says Red Cross teams are going "truck by truck" and haven't brought in the vast bulk of goods from their Kathmandu warehouse yet.

    "What we’re most worried about is the danger to the lives of people who are still in the path of this potential future flood," he adds.

  19. Analysis

    Fears new lake of rising water in China could burst its bankspublished at 23:00 BST 27 August

    Laura Bicker
    China correspondent

    A lake of rising water has formed at a site along the China-Nepal border prompting fears that it could burst its banks - just as rescuers try to find survivors after yesterday’s landslide.

    Chinese search teams in Tibet have spent the day assessing the risk of flooding near Gyirong port after a lake formed near the confluence of Nepal’s Chochen river and the Puruchangpo Zangbo river.

    They told state media that stabilising this body of water was a priority to keep rescue personnel on the ground safe.

    China’s Ministry of Water Resources has used modelling techniques to estimate how much water is in the lake and now say that with continued rainfall, there is a high risk it could burst within the next three days.

    The ministry said it will prepare for a potential breach and provide support for emergency rescue efforts.

  20. Hundreds missing on both sides of border, as death toll continues to risepublished at 22:59 BST 27 August

    A rescuer digs around in a pile of debris and mudImage source, Getty Images

    Since the floods first struck the region on Wednesday, the numbers of people killed and missing has continued to climb.

    Authorities in Nepal and state media in China - which governs Tibet - have been giving updates, although it's not clear if the figures overlap.

    Here's what we know, according to the most recent updates:

    In Nepal

    • The number of people killed in Nepal has risen to 389, Nepal police say
    • Meanwhile, 910 people are missing, according to Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority
    • Among the missing are 517 foreign citizens, 44 members of the Nepal Army and 28 Nepal police officers

    In Tibet

    • Three people are confirmed to have died, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV
    • And 558 people are missing, with 260 foreign nationals among them, CCTV says