Nepal must prepare before the waters rise again

A resident walks along a street covered in mud following flash floods and a landslide disaster in Devghat, in Nepal's Nuwakot district, on Wednesday. | AFP-JIJI

Aug 27, 2026

Early Wednesday morning, a catastrophic flash flood surged into the Bhote Koshi River near the China-Nepal border, tearing through the settlements of Timure and Syabrubesi in Nepal’s Rasuwa district, a mountain region that sits astride the main overland trade route between Kathmandu and Tibet.

Warnings went out as far downstream as Muglin. Markets and the Timure customs compound were swept away, along with scores of people. By press time, Nepal Police said 95 bodies had been recovered. Another 484 tourists — 391 foreigners and 93 Nepalis — were reported missing, while the number of missing local residents remained unclear. Across the border in Tibet, at least three people were reported dead and 265 missing.

The images of destruction and suffering coming out of Nepal are heartbreaking, but they tell only part of the story. Twice in just over a year, a deadly flood has torn down the same Himalayan river and into the same communities. Nepal responded quickly both times.

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