LIVE: Nepal floods death toll crosses 1,000, nearly 4,000 missing, fresh alert issued

Nepal flood death toll hits 1,003, nearly 4,000 missing

The death toll from the flash floods in Nepal rose to 1,003 on Tuesday after security forces recovered more bodies from eight districts, officials said.

About 4,000 people are still missing. Nearly 12,000 others have been rescued, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).

Flash floods, triggered by a collapse or avalanche of ice and rock near the Nepal-Tibet border, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal on August 26. The Bhotekoshi River, which flows south from the Himalayan border region, carried the floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects.

Chitwan recorded the highest number of recovered bodies, at 321. Nawalparasi East followed with 216, while 170 were recovered in Nawalparasi West. Nuwakot recorded 95 deaths, Gorkha 65, Dhading 57, Rasuwa 41 and Tanahun 38, NDRRMA said.

Nepal issues fresh flood alert across several districts

Nepalese authorities issued a new flood warning Tuesday, covering districts in the eastern, central and western regions, and urged people living near rivers to stay alert and take precautions.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said Nuwakot and Rasuwa face a high risk of flash floods, with water levels expected to rise in smaller rivers and streams.

Several eastern and central districts are also at risk of rising river levels and moderate flash flooding. They include Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Solukhumbu, Khotang, Okhaldhunga, Ramechhap, Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk, Kavrepalanchok, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kathmandu and Dhading.

The alert also covers Gorkha, Lamjung, Dolpa, Rukum East, Rukum West, Jajarkot, Darchula, Baitadi, Dadeldhura, Doti, Kailali and Kanchanpur in western Nepal.

NDRRMA called on people in riverbank settlements and other exposed areas to remain watchful and follow precautionary measures as the weather conditions continue to pose a flood threat.

Three families claim same flood victim’s body in Nepal

A body recovered after Nepal’s deadly floods has become the subject of a painful dispute, with three families initially believing it belonged to a missing relative.

Body number 1003 is being held at Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences. Relatives of hydropower worker Gopal Dahit and guide Damodar Basyal each say physical features match their missing family member. Police will rely on DNA testing to settle the matter.

The flood on August 26 left hundreds dead, while families across Nepal continue searching hospitals for relatives. In Pokhara, 102 bodies recovered from several districts had been brought in by Monday. Sixteen had been identified, while DNA samples were collected from relatives in five disputed cases.

Some identifications have depended on small personal clues. Five-year-old Prince Tamang was recognised through his school tie, necklace and earring. Satya Sundar Prajapati was identified by a tattoo on his shoulder.

Where photographs or belongings cannot settle an identity, families face weeks of waiting for forensic results.

Hydropower workers escape Nepal floods as rescue efforts continue

Shiva Giri and six others escaped the Mailung Hydropower Project by scrambling up a hillside as floodwaters swept through Rasuwa. Several colleagues, along with Giri’s cousin, were carried away. Cut off from Timure and Dhunche, the group spent about 12 hours trekking through forest before taking shelter in a cave overnight.

Their escape came as rescue crews searched hydropower sites for workers missing since August 26. About 280 people have been brought out of tunnels, with teams from India and China joining the operation. Rescuers have also used controlled blasts to clear blocked passages.

At Upper Trishuli-1, engineer Sandip Rana and about 100 employees fled uphill after an emergency siren sounded. They watched the project office, camps and roads vanish under the water.

Inside another tunnel, Ramchandra and five colleagues survived for six hours by gripping an iron ladder as floodwater surged through the passage.

At Upper Trishuli-3A, soldiers are widening a tunnel opening with heavy machinery and blasts, but have yet to reach workers believed trapped inside.

Nepal battles wave of AI-generated disaster misinformation

Nepal is confronting a wave of false and AI-made disaster content as rescue crews continue working after the deadly August 26 floods. Authorities have ordered 72 social media users to delete inappropriate posts, according to The Kathmandu Post.

The Nepal Press Council has also launched a complaint portal for misinformation and graphic material linked to the Bhotekoshi disaster. By Saturday evening, it had received 101 complaints, including 67 involving personal accounts.

Fact-checkers found that several viral posts used old footage, scenes from disasters abroad or AI-generated images and videos. One clip said to show Home Minister Sudan Gurung rescuing people inside a tunnel was actually filmed in Uttarakhand, India. Another flood video, viewed more than seven million times on X, was judged 97.2% likely to be AI-generated.

False claims also misidentified footage from Alaska and fabricated Rasuwa before-and-after images.

The flood has killed more than 900 people, while over 4,245 remain missing, according to authorities.

Nepal flood survivors recall moments of terror and loss

adri Prasad Devkota was travelling with his wife and 34 other pilgrims to Gosainkunda when a surge of muddy water suddenly swept across the road at Bhainse in Nuwakot.

His wife held his hand and urged him not to jump. Devkota broke free and leapt from the moving bus, which was then carried away by the Bhotekoshi flood. He was thrown into a roadside drain but survived by gripping plants on the hillside.

Two bodies from the group have been recovered, while 28 remain missing, including Devkota’s wife. Six passengers survived by jumping from the bus.

Devkota and his cousin Tularam spent two hours on the hillside before reaching Hilekharka, where villagers gave them food and first aid. They returned the next day to search for relatives but found nothing.

In Betrawati, Santaman Lama escaped after a warning sent his family uphill. He watched floodwaters destroy his home and shop, leaving him with almost nothing.

Nepali Army rescues 279 from Bhotekoshi flood-hit projects

Nepali Army teams have pulled 279 people to safety from hydropower projects hit by last week’s Bhotekoshi floods, Prime Minister Balendra Shah said, as rescue teams continue searching project sites and tunnel sections, reported NDTV.

The situation remains unclear for hundreds of others. The Independent Power Producers’ Association Nepal (IPPAN), which represents private-sector power developers, said Monday that the whereabouts of 894 workers at 11 hydropower projects along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river corridors were still unknown.

Six Keralites with foreign citizenship still untraced after Nepal floods: NORKA Roots

Six Keralites holding foreign citizenship remain untraced following the flash floods in Nepal, while more people from the state began returning home on Monday, NORKA Roots said.

NORKA Roots is a Keralam government agency that coordinates overseas affairs and welfare services for non-resident Keralites.

In a statement, the agency said the six people yet to be contacted include four Australian nationals, one British national and US citizen Krishnakumar Raghavan (59), whose relatives registered his details with the NORKA help desk.

All six have family roots in Keralam and were reportedly in the China-Nepal border region when the flash floods occurred.

Efforts are continuing to trace them and establish contact with them, it said.

Two people continue to remain safe in Nepal, while 15 others who returned from the country are travelling to Keralam, NORKA Roots said.

A 44-member group that had travelled to Kathmandu on a tourist trip reached Kozhikode by road from Bengaluru on Monday morning.

The group had arrived at Bengaluru airport on Sunday night, where NORKA Development Officer Jayaprakash M K received them and facilitated their onward journey home, the statement said.

Eight more members of a 23-member Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage group, which included 19 people from Keralam, reached Delhi on Monday.

Eleven Keralites from the group had arrived in Delhi the previous day.

Those who reached Delhi are continuing their journey to Keralam or to various Indian cities where they work, it said.

158 Indians rescued, India steps up relief and rescue efforts

The number of Indian nationals rescued in the wake of the devastating flash floods in Nepal stands at 158, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday, as India stepped up its relief and rescue efforts in coordination with Nepalese authorities.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal shared the update in a post on X.

"Update on Indian nationals & India's rescue and relief efforts in Nepal Number of Indians rescued : 158 As of 2100 hrs, 31 August 2026," he posted.

Jaiswal also shared an update on the 19-member specialised forensics team from India that began functioning in Kathmandu on Sunday, as well as an Indian tunnel rescue team deployed in Nepal, in a statement shared along with the post.

"The specialised forensic team from India continued its work in Kathmandu today in coordination with counterparts from Nepal Police's Forensic Science Laboratory. They discussed the optimisation of various protocols and documentation," it said.

The Indian forensics team is helping augment the analysis of DNA samples for the identification of victims' mortal remains in Nepal.

"The tunnel rescue operations team from India sustained its efforts in coordination with the Nepali Army at Chilime and Langtang hydropower sites today. Despite inclement weather and difficult access conditions at Chilime, the team was able to establish a foothold at the tunnel. Rescue efforts have will continue tomorrow," the statement said.

Three Kushinagar workers return from Nepal amid floods; three others missing

Three out of the six people from a village in Kushinagar, who were missing after the flash flood tragedy in Nepal, have returned, while the remaining persons are still missing, officials said on Monday.

Kaptanganj station officer Dhirendra Rai said these individuals from Sudhiyani village had gone to work at a 216-megawatt hydroelectric project in the Trishuli region of Nepal's Rasuwa district, which has been severely affected by the disaster.

Three workers returned to their village on Monday, while three others remain missing, he said.

Those who have returned were identified as Rajkumar Tiwari, Abhishek Tiwari and Akash Kanojia, while Abhay Tiwari (alias Dheeraj Tiwari), Aman Gaud, and Pankaj Rajbhar remain untraced.