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Death toll from devastating floods in China and Nepal surpasses 1,000
Confirmed
The death toll in Nepal and China passed 1,000 on Tuesday, authorities said, and the fear is that the toll will spiral as recovery efforts continue along the scars carved into the landscape by the raging floods. Chinese authorities have reported seven deaths and more than 550 missing, while Nepal’s disaster agency said the death toll had climbed to 669 with 2,426 people missing.
Chinese rescue workers arrive at Maithili Barrack, an army training center that serves as a primary base for airlifting survivors after deadly flash floods and a mudslide in Trishuli, Nuwakot district, Nepal, Aug. 29, 2026. (Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha) COLOMBIA BUILDING COLLAPSES ON CAMERA AS EARTHQUAKE BRINGS DEATH, DESTRUCTION Dramatic video showed the rescue of one such person as authorities from Nepal worked to drag the man out of the mud deluge.
A satellite image shows one of two lakes at the site of the glacial collapse in the border area between Nepal and Tibet Autonomous Region, China, Aug. 28, 2026. (SPOT CNES 2026, Distribution Airbus DS/Handout via Reuters) Nepal Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle estimated the country will need over $4 billion to rebuild after the disaster.
After expressing, in a telegram, his deep sorrow over the devastating flooding in Nepal on Wednesday, August 26, Pope Leo XIV has sent concrete financial support, in coordination with the Apostolic Nunciature of Nepal, to meet the most urgent needs of the population affected by the disaster.
After Nepali authorities updated their figures Saturday, the combined toll in Nepal and Tibet rose to 676 dead and nearly 3,000 people missing, according to The Associated Press. The Prefect called it "a rapid and concrete sign to convey, especially to the most vulnerable, the closeness and tenderness of the Holy Father, like a caress from the Church that accompanies and supports them." The latest figures put the toll at more than 630 deaths and nearly 3,000 people, including over 500 foreigners, missing in the various affected regions.
The contribution will help Caritas Nepal, which operates under the direction of the Apostolic Vicariate, with the activities already underway since the first hours after the flood, namely providing immediate assistance with food, basic necessities, and shelter for those who have lost everything.
In Georgia, Samarth said he was trying to keep calm, despite a lack of any information from officials in Nepal, or at home in the U.S. "Honestly, I haven't really heard as much from the U.S. government," he said. Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said on Tuesday that 987 deaths had been counted in the country, with 3,916 people missing , including 583 foreigners.
According to Christian leaders in Nepal, increasing Hindu nationalism seeks both to reinforce Nepal’s identity as a Hindu nation and to suppress Christian growth. China dispatched five such workers from Tibet by helicopter to assist, according to the country's state-affiliated Xinhua news agency.
What's confirmed
- Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 people still missing, including 261 foreigners, in their most recent update on Sunday.
- The Prefect called it "a rapid and concrete sign to convey, especially to the most vulnerable, the closeness and tenderness of the Holy Father, like a caress from the Church that accompanies and supports them." The…
- Chinese authorities have reported seven deaths and more than 550 missing, while Nepal’s disaster agency said the death toll had climbed to 669 with 2,426 people missing.
What's still developing
- Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said on Tuesday that 987 deaths had been counted in the country, with 3,916 people missing , including 583 foreigners.
- Scientists studying satellite imagery said the collapse appears to have involved the failure of bedrock beneath a glacier.
- Prime Minister Balendra Shah said 279 workers had been rescued from hydropower projects so far, where authorities had initially estimated that more than 900 people were missing.
- “Thousands of citizens have lost their homes, families, loved ones and property,” Shah said on social media.
- Rescue teams had managed to restore road networks to Nuwakot, one of the worst-affected districts, facilitating rescue operations and the distribution of relief material, Shah said.
- Police official Bipin Regmi said a search team recovered 24 bodies from a house in Betrabati village in Nuwakot district.
- Aid worth more than $42m has poured into the country after the disaster, Shah said, and the government expects the contributions to increase.
- Pictures and videos shared by rescue teams showed earth-moving equipment digging and shovelling mud and rocks under lights in the dark of the night as workers watched.