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Nepal Flood Rescue Efforts Continue Amid Devastation

Sunday, September 6, 2026
Part of: Nepal-Tibet Glacial Floods Spur Humanitarian Crisis (13 clusters · 26-08-2026 → 06-09-2026) →
Sources aljazeera.com 2bbc.co.uk 1cbc.ca 1cbsnews.com 1france24.com 1thenationalnews.com 1
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cbc.ca

Several mud-covered rescue workers and civilians surround and support an older woman in a rocky, debris-strewn outdoor area. One uniformed official and a helmeted responder appear to be assisting her, while another distressed woman sits nearby; a damaged building and wooded hillside are visible in the background.

Summary

Nearly two weeks after catastrophic floods and mudslides near the Nepal-China border, rescue teams continue searching collapsed buildings, hardened mud, rivers and hydropower tunnels for thousands of missing people. The disaster, believed to have been triggered by a glacial collapse, has killed at least 1,300 people in Nepal and 43 in Tibet, while more than 5,500 remain missing across both countries. Despite dangerous terrain, damaged infrastructure, severe weather and limited access, rescuers have found several survivors, including hydropower workers trapped underground and 64-year-old Chandika Kumari Shrestha, who survived for 10 days inside her buried home. International teams and Nepali authorities are expanding searches, while volunteers deliver food, medicine, clothing and shelter to isolated communities. The catastrophe has left widespread destruction, profound psychological trauma and a long recovery ahead, prompting Nepal to seek international loss-and-damage assistance and renewed attention to the increasing risks posed by climate-driven glacial disasters.

Key Points

  • The floods and mudslides, likely caused by a glacial collapse, have killed more than 1,300 people in Nepal and 43 in Tibet, with over 5,500 still missing.
  • Search teams are examining hydropower tunnels, buried homes and damaged infrastructure, despite landslides, mud, severe weather and disrupted roads and communications.
  • Several people have been rescued alive after more than a week, including hydropower workers and 64-year-old Chandika Kumari Shrestha, who survived 10 days trapped in her home.
  • Nepali authorities, foreign rescue teams and volunteers are delivering aid and reaching isolated communities cut off by destroyed roads, bridges and rivers.
  • Nepal is framing the disaster as a climate-justice crisis, seeking international loss-and-damage funding as experts warn glacier-related floods are becoming more frequent.

Articles in this Cluster

China, Nepal race to find thousands still missing 12 days after floods | Climate Crisis News | Al Jazeera

Rescue teams in Nepal and China are continuing a difficult search for thousands of people missing nearly two weeks after catastrophic floods near the China-Nepal border. Authorities believe the disaster was likely triggered by a glacial collapse. Across the two countries, at least 1,384 people have died and more than 5,500 remain missing, including approximately 800 foreign nationals. Nepal’s national disaster agency reported that 1,341 bodies had been recovered and that roughly 4,996 people were still missing. In Tibet, the reported death toll stood at 43, with 519 people missing. Four survivors were found after Friday, including three discovered in tunnels at hydropower facilities. Rescue operations remain hampered by difficult geography, severe weather, poor connectivity, mud, and the threat of additional landslides. At Gyirong, a five-storey customs building was destroyed, while teams used shovels, excavators, and ground-penetrating radar to search for victims. The reopening of the only road to the area has allowed heavy machinery to reach the site. Nepal is also presenting the disaster as a climate-justice issue. The government has asked the United Nations-backed Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage to help cover the enormous costs of the floods. The United Nations has appealed for $50m to assist more than 84,000 people. Nepal’s foreign minister argued that major greenhouse-gas emitters have a historical responsibility to help vulnerable countries. Climate experts say glacier-related floods have become more frequent as global temperatures rise, with a UN study finding that such events are nearly five times more common than in 1950. The article also describes the psychological effects of the disaster. At a monastery shelter in Kathmandu, survivors—many of them children—are beginning to confront the loss of their families and homes. Volunteers believe their emotions may remain suppressed until the trauma emerges in the months and years ahead.
Entities: Nepal, China, Tibet, Kathmandu, GyirongTone: urgentSentiment: negativeIntent: inform

Nepal rescuers search hydropower tunnels for survivors | Floods | Al Jazeera

The article reports that rescue teams in Nepal are searching tunnels at the Chilime hydropower plant for people who may still be trapped after severe flooding struck the region. The search is taking place more than a week after the floods, indicating that rescuers are working in difficult and potentially dangerous conditions during the disaster’s aftermath. The report focuses on the ongoing emergency response rather than providing confirmed information about the number of missing people, survivors, casualties, or the specific condition of the tunnels. Al Jazeera correspondent Tony Cheng reports from northern Nepal, where the hydropower facility is located and where the flooding caused widespread disruption. The brief video-news report highlights the uncertainty surrounding those who may remain inside the tunnels and the efforts of rescue personnel to locate and assist them. It does not include details about the floods’ precise cause, the scale of damage to the Chilime plant, the identities of anyone trapped, or the progress of the search. Overall, the story presents a continuing rescue operation more than a week after a devastating natural disaster, with the possibility of survivors keeping the response active. Its primary function is to inform viewers about the search and the humanitarian consequences of the flooding.
Entities: Nepal, Chilime hydropower plant, Northern Nepal, Hydropower tunnels, Rescue teamsTone: urgentSentiment: negativeIntent: inform

Watch: Moment 64-year-old Nepali woman is found alive in mud-buried home - BBC News

The article reports the rescue of Chandika Shrestha, a 64-year-old woman who was found alive after a devastating flow of ice, rock and mud struck a Himalayan valley in Nepal. More than 10 days after the disaster, rescuers were still searching damaged and partially buried homes and continued to discover survivors. Shrestha was located on the fourth floor of her house in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, despite the building being partly buried by the debris. Members of Nepal’s Armed Police Force found her on 5 September, according to Reuters. Following her rescue, she was airlifted to a hospital in Kathmandu for medical treatment. The report highlights both the destructive scale of the disaster and the continuing emergency response in the affected region. Shrestha’s survival and recovery after being trapped in a mud-buried home provide a hopeful element amid the wider devastation. The article is presented as a short news video report, with the rescue moment serving as its central focus. It provides limited information about the original event, including the precise cause of the ice, rock and mud flow, the number of people affected, or Shrestha’s medical condition after reaching the hospital. Its primary emphasis is on the ongoing rescue operation and the remarkable discovery of a survivor more than a week after the disaster.
Entities: Chandika Shrestha, Nepal, Nuwakot district, Kathmandu, Nepal’s Armed Police ForceTone: urgentSentiment: positiveIntent: inform

Woman found alive in home destroyed by Nepal flood, days after family began mourning rites | CBC News

Chandika Kumari Shrestha, an elderly woman from Betrawati in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, was found alive 10 days after devastating floods and mudslides destroyed her home. Her family had believed she had died and had begun observing an 11-day mourning period. Rescuers discovered her after hearing a faint voice while searching the remains of her four-storey house, which had been swept away and left surrounded by water, mud and debris. She was trapped in a narrow pocket of air and was taken to an army hospital after a 45-minute rescue operation. Shrestha was among hundreds of people missing in Betrawati, one of the areas hardest hit by the disaster. Much of the town, including its market and residential buildings, was buried beneath compacted white deposits and debris. The floods, reportedly triggered by a glacial collapse, killed more than 1,300 people across Nepal, while thousands remained unaccounted for. Crews continued recovering bodies, including 24 decomposed remains found in a market building days before Shrestha’s rescue. Rescue teams have continued searching collapsed structures, tunnels and hardened mud deposits for signs of life. Since the previous Friday, three people—including a Chinese citizen near the Trishuli River—had been rescued from tunnels where more than 900 people were believed to be trapped. Other survivors included an eight-year-old boy who was reunited with his mother. Despite the diminishing hopes of finding more survivors, authorities continued rescue and recovery efforts, while mass burials were held for unidentified victims in other parts of Nepal.
Entities: Chandika Kumari Shrestha, Mahendra Darnal, Betrawati village, Nuwakot district, Nepal, Nepal PoliceTone: urgentSentiment: negativeIntent: inform

Third worker rescued from Nepal tunnel, woman found alive in rubble 10 days after devastating floods - CBS News

Two people were rescued in separate operations in Nepal 10 days after devastating floods struck the country, officials said. The rescues brought the number of workers pulled alive from the Trishuli 3A hydropower project to three. A joint team of Nepalese military personnel and South Korean disaster experts rescued a man from a 738-foot hydropower tunnel. Nepal’s army said he was undergoing a health assessment, while images showed him being evacuated by helicopter. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the man was in stable condition after being taken to a hospital. He said he had repeatedly shouted when he saw the lights of rescue crews, but they were unable to hear him. He described being rescued as difficult to believe. Rescue efforts have expanded to 12 hydropower projects across Nepal. Authorities estimate that about 900 workers are missing and roughly 500 may be trapped in tunnels. Teams from India, China, South Korea and the United States are searching debris, damaged structures and tunnels for survivors. Separately, Nepalese rescuers found a woman alive inside a mud-covered house in the flood-hit town of Nuwakot. She was given bottled water, wrapped in a gray blanket and airlifted toward Kathmandu for medical care. The floods killed at least 1,300 people and left more than 5,000 missing, according to Nepal’s disaster management agency. Officials said the disaster was likely caused by a glacier collapse. The latest rescues offered hope amid a large-scale emergency response focused on locating survivors and assisting communities devastated by flooding and mudslides.
Entities: Nepal, Trishuli hydropower project, Trishuli 3A hydropower plant, Nuwakot, KathmanduTone: urgentSentiment: negativeIntent: inform

Nepal floods: Search operations enter 12th day - France 24

This France 24 video report, issued on September 6, 2026, covers continuing search and rescue operations in Nepal on the 12th day after catastrophic floods. It reports that Nepali rescuers were facing challenging conditions, indicating that the operation remained difficult well after the initial flooding. The search effort received renewed hope following the extraordinary rescue of four survivors, although the report does not provide their identities, condition, or details about how they were located. The flooding has also affected infrastructure and roads, creating additional obstacles for rescuers and potentially limiting access to impacted areas. The report does not specify the exact search locations, the number of people still missing, the death toll, the scale of infrastructure damage, or the agencies involved. Instead, it provides a brief update and directs viewers to correspondent Shahzaib Wahlah for further details in the accompanying video. The central message is that search operations are continuing despite difficult conditions and widespread disruption to transportation and infrastructure. The rescue of four survivors is presented as an exceptional and encouraging development amid an otherwise severe disaster. The report emphasizes the persistence of Nepali rescuers and the continuing consequences of the floods. As provided, the article is primarily a short video description rather than a full written account, so its factual details are limited to the 12-day search timeline, the rescue of four survivors, the difficult conditions, and the impact on roads and infrastructure.
Entities: Nepal, France 24, Nepali rescuers, Shahzaib Wahlah, Nepal floodsTone: urgentSentiment: negativeIntent: inform

'People are starting from zero': Nepalis band together to deliver aid to remote flood-hit areas | The National

Flash floods and mudslides that struck Nepal on August 26 have killed more than 1,300 people and left tens of thousands isolated from roads, bridges, medical care and other infrastructure. A glacial collapse sent ice and boulders downriver across Nepal and Tibet, reportedly leaving more than 5,300 people missing. Entire villages and towns were inundated by mud, while some buildings lost walls several storeys above ground level. Families have been separated by destroyed bridges and, in some cases, cannot determine whether relatives survived. As official rescue efforts continue, Nepali entrepreneurs, philanthropists and aid workers are organizing volunteer missions to reach remote communities. They are trekking through thick mud, using helicopters and crossing rivers by zipline to deliver blankets, clothing, food, medicine, tents and sanitary products. The Nepal Army has installed ziplines to move supplies, injured people and residents across swollen rivers, while police are using drones to search for survivors. Two people were also rescued from a tunnel near the Trishuli Hydropower project. Shree Lamichhane, a Nepali-US businessman with businesses in Dubai, returned to flood-hit areas including Trishuli Bazaar, Devighat and Nuwakot district soon after the disaster. He traveled with friends from Nepal, Belgium, India and the United States, distributing supplies to people sheltering in schools. He said many survivors had lost their homes, vehicles and businesses and would have to begin again from nothing. He plans to continue taking aid to communities that have received little assistance. Rajani Thapa, a Kathmandu-based aid worker and vice president of Junior Chamber International, is also helping teams reach locations without road access. She described severe shortages of food and drinking water, widespread injuries and the need for long-term shelter and support. The article emphasizes both the immediate humanitarian emergency and the prolonged recovery Nepal will face as families search for missing relatives and survivors rebuild their lives.
Entities: Shree Lamichhane, Rajani Thapa, Nepal, Tibet, Nuwakot districtTone: emotionalSentiment: negativeIntent: inform