Nepal flood death toll climbed on Thursday as rescue teams searched rugged border districts for hundreds of people unaccounted for after torrents of water and mud swept through communities following a glacial collapse.
The Nepal Police said fatalities had reached 270, while the Nepal Tourism Board reported 644 people missing nationwide, including 127 Nepalese nationals, as operations intensified in the worst-hit districts of Nuwakot and Rasuwa. Some international outlets, citing unnamed officials, reported a higher toll of 332, which authorities had not confirmed.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said 558 people were missing in Tibet, including 260 foreigners, and reported that two villagers had been rescued. It said at least three people had been confirmed dead as of Thursday morning.
Nepal flood death toll and 65 Americans missing
Hikmat Singh Ayer, CEO and senior director of the Nepal Tourism Board, said Thursday that 65 U.S. nationals were among those missing, almost double the number reported a day earlier. In a later update, the board said 27 foreign nationals were rescued in Rasuwa, including two Americans, a man and a woman in their 50s.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States stood in solidarity with Nepal and was ready to support humanitarian assistance. The U.S. Embassy in Nepal offered condolences to families of the victims and said it was working to account for affected U.S. citizens. The embassy urged Americans in the region to contact relatives, hotels, guides, or trekking companies as soon as possible, while noting severe communication disruptions.
The U.S. State Department said it was closely monitoring developments, dispatching an adviser to support the response, and providing a $500,000 grant to Catholic Relief Services.
Search and rescue efforts intensify
Flash floods destroyed homes, roads, bridges, and power facilities. Video shared by regional outlets and on social media showed violent water surging through valleys, destroying bridges and dams and sweeping away buildings. Drone footage from Nepal on Wednesday showed roadways torn apart and structures buried in gray, churning runoff.
Steep valleys that serve as vital travel and trade corridors became treacherous. Images from Nuwakot showed second stories coated in mud, debris tangled in trees and overhead lines, and vehicles buried. Travel ground to a halt in some locations.
“When I reached Dhunge bazaar, in half an hour, the flood came and damaged all the market,” resident Shoyam Rajbhandari said. “How many people are missing or dead, we don’t know.”
Army and private helicopters were deployed from early morning. The Nepalese army rescued more than 100 people by air on Thursday, according to spokesperson Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet. He said at least eight foreign nationals were flown to Kathmandu and that teams evacuated people trapped at facilities linked to the Trishuli hydropower project.
Rescuers recovered bodies about 62 miles downstream in Chitwan district. Dozens of injured people were transported to Kathmandu for advanced care.
In Tibet, CCTV reported a mudslide near the Gyirong Port land crossing that left average mud depths exceeding 5 feet, with some road sections over 6 feet. All roads to the port were damaged and communications severed. With light rain persisting, the broadcaster warned of secondary collapses or landslides. It also reported a barrier lake forming in the direction of the port, complicating rescue operations, and said authorities deployed a large military transport aircraft to send in a team.
Nepalese officials said earlier that hundreds of foreigners were among the missing, including Indian nationals on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet. The Dalai Lama issued a message of condolence, saying he was praying for those who lost their lives in Nepal and Tibet.
Glacier collapse, not earthquake, cited as trigger
The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake early Wednesday about 41 miles north of Kathmandu, near the border. It later said the event was a magnitude 5.2 glacial collapse, with debris rushing downstream and causing catastrophic impacts. The updated conclusion, it said, was based on nearby seismic readings, long-period waves, and satellite imagery, and no earthquake had occurred.
Experts at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said an avalanche from a glacier likely triggered the flash flood. “Hydrological observations indicate the exceptional speed and magnitude of the flood wave,” the group said, noting water levels on the Trishuli River rose by as much as 27 feet in about 30 minutes. They said the Lhende Khola River, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi, saw the most extreme flooding.
Climate change’s risks grow in the Himalaya
“The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in 14 months, this time triggered by an ice rock avalanche from a glacier on the Nepal side that blocked the river and released a sudden surge downstream,” said Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist at the climate research group, emphasizing the need for early warnings in a warming Himalaya.
The region experienced similar flash floods in August last year when a Tibetan glacial lake overflowed amid high temperatures, killing nine and damaging critical infrastructure, including a Nepal–China bridge. The Himalayan range, home to many of the world’s highest peaks and remaining glaciers, features steep slopes and lush valleys that are highly vulnerable to floods and landslides. Scientists say more intense monsoons and accelerated glacial melt, driven by human-caused warming, are increasing such hazards.
Researchers in Kathmandu reported earlier this year that glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya are losing ice faster, with melt rates doubling since 2000. The expanding risks from melting glaciers have become a global concern.
Earlier this year, a Hawaii mudslide underscored how heavy rain and unstable terrain can combine to produce rapidly unfolding disasters far from the Himalaya.