Nepal Flash Floods: Death Toll Mounts To 939; About 3,925 Missing, Says NDRRMA

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.

CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby on Monday said he spoke with leaders of political parties in Nepal, including former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, and expressed deep anguish over the tragic loss of more than 900 lives in the devastating landslides and floods.

In a post on X, Baby said he conveyed his concern over the thousands of people, including Indians, who remain missing and with whom contact has not yet been established, as well as the difficulties faced by rescue operations due to continued heavy rains.

“Reaffirmed our solidarity with the people of Nepal in this hour of immense tragedy and assured them that the Party stands ready to extend all possible assistance and support”.

The death toll in the August devastating flash floods in Nepal has mounted to 939 with 3,925 still missing, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said on Sunday. In its latest update on the ongoing massive multi-agency rescue and relief operation, the NDRRMA said that 279 have been injured in the disaster while 11379 people have been rescued.

The Nepali Army has concluded the rescue operation at the flash flood-hit Rasuwa hydropower tunnel after no one was found trapped inside the tunnel, PTI reported.

Nepal Police on Monday asked people to refrain from consuming fish and other riverine food items carried by the flood into the water bodies following the devastating August 26 flash floods. The warning has been issued amid threat of possible water-borne diseases.

Nepal Police on Monday asked first-degree relatives of the victims of the devastating flash floods whose bodies or body parts have been recovered during the ongoing search operation, to come forward for DNA profiling to identify the remains.

In a communique issued on Monday, Nepal Police said that following the Bhote Koshi River flood in Rasuwa on 26 August 2026, DNA testing is being facilitated to identify recovered bodies or body parts of missing Nepali and Foreign nationals.

Relatives in Nepal:
A first-degree relative (father, mother, son, or daughter) of a missing person is requested to provide a fresh blood sample for DNA profiling and two passport-sized photographs at the Pathology Laboratory, Nepal Police Hospital, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, or the nearest District Police Office.

Relatives abroad:
A first-degree relative (father, mother, son, or daughter) is requested to undergo DNA profiling at an authorized laboratory in their own country of residence and send a soft copy of the DNA profile to Nepal Police's official email address: dnacodis@nepalpolice.gov.np for comparison purposes.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday visited the Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi and expressed his condolences by signing the condolence book. In a post on X, Singh said that on behalf of the Government and people of India, he extended his deepest condolences to the people of Nepal and their Government, on the loss of precious lives and large-scale devastation caused by the flash flood on 26 August 2026.

"This tragic natural calamity has affected citizens of Nepal along with a number of foreign nationals including Indian nationals. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives in this disaster. We hope for speedy recovery of those who were injured. As a close friend and partner, and ‘Sukh Dukh Ke Saathi’, India has always stood by Nepal. In this trying time also, we stand shoulder to shoulder with our Nepali brothers and sisters and are committed to support Nepal's efforts for search, rescue and rehabilitation".

The Australian Government is deploying a further $3 million in humanitarian assistance, the second tranche of its ongoing support for response and recovery following the devastating floods along the Nepal-China border.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took to social media to state, "In the coming days, an Australian Air Force C-17A will depart carrying humanitarian supplies, equipment and personnel to support communities devastated by the floods. Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those Australians who are still missing. We’ll keep working with Nepal to get help where it’s needed most."

Reportedly, at least 42 Australian nationals are missing since the devastating flash floods in Nepal.

The Tamil Nadu government has reportedly set up a three-member nodal team in Kathmandu to coordinate rescue operations and assist relatives of Tamil tourists stranded or missing in flood-hit Nepal.

According to an official statement issued by the Tamil Nadu government, several tourists from the State were affected by the floods during their visit to Nepal, with some reported missing and others stranded in affected areas. The State government said all possible assistance is being extended as per the instructions of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.

Three Indian nationals were among four people rescued by the Nepali Army from Chilime village in flood-hit Rasuwa district, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava said on Monday.

"Met 3 Indian nationals and their Nepali colleague, who were rescued by Nepali Army from Chilime village, that was badly affected by flash floods in #Rasuwa. We thank the Nepali army for their help," Srivastava said in a post on X.

The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu is facilitating their return to India, he said.

Four unidentified bodies recovered from the Narayani-Gandak river in Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj district were handed over to the Nepal administration after post-mortem examinations, officials said on Monday (August 31, 2026).

The bodies of three women and a man were recovered on August 27 from the river and had been kept at the district hospital mortuary as their identities could not be established.

DNA samples were collected from all four bodies during the post-mortem examination to facilitate their identification, officials said.

Nichlaul Tehsildar Amit Singh, who led the operation, said, "The bodies were transported in two ambulances and handed over to the Nawalparasi administration at the Maheshpur border near Thuthibari late Sunday night."

Additional District Magistrate Prashant Kumar said, “all necessary legal and administrative formalities were completed before the bodies were handed over to Nepal Police.”

The DNA data will also be shared with the Nepal administration according to procedure to help match the samples with those of families searching for missing persons, officials said. (PTI)

China has provided $2.2 million in financial assistance to Nepal for victims of the devastating flash flood. President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang expressed condolences over the loss of lives and property, PTI said, citing the Chinese government on Monday.

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Zhang Maoming handed over a cheque of NPR 350 million, equivalent to $2 million, to Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle on Sunday as assistance from the Chinese government, the Finance Ministry said. The Chinese envoy also handed over $200,000 in assistance from the Chinese Red Cross to the Nepal government, it said.

NDRRMA said 20,819 security personnel, including 8,722 Nepal Army personnel, 7,894 Nepal Police personnel and 4,203 Armed Police Force personnel have been mobilised for search, rescue and relief operations across Nepal.

The death toll in the devastating flash floods in Nepal has risen to 903, up from 788, according to the latest data released by Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) on Monday.

The disaster has also left around 4,247 people missing, while 10,451 people have been rescued so far, the data suggests.

According to NDRRMA, the highest number of bodies have been recovered in Chitwan, where 272 casualties, including various human remains, have been reported. Nawalparasi (East) has recorded 207 deaths, followed by Nawalparasi (West) with 151, Nuwakot with 95, Gorkha with 62, Dhading with 55, Tanahun with 37 and Rasuwa with 24.

As many as 49 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu are currently missing on the China side after completing the Kailash yatra, the owner of a travel firm who organised the yatra said.

Expressing concerns over the missing pilgrims, Maravel Nagappan, the firm owner, said to PTI that over 40 yatris from Tamil Nadu had completed the Kailash yatra and were waiting to enter Nepal from the China side when the disaster struck on August 26, 2026.

The travel firm owner has urged the Central government to intervene and seek information about the untraceable yatris from the Chinese authorities.

At least seven Indians were among 22 non-natives who were rescued on Sunday in the aftermath of the devastating flash floods.

As per latest reports, more than 933 hydropower project workers are trapped in tunnels, as search and rescue operations entered sixth day.

Tibetan spiritual leader 14th Dalai Lama on Sunday offered special prayers for the victims of the devastating flash floods in Tibet and Nepal. Prayers were offered during a long-life prayer ceremony held at the Shewatsel Teaching Ground in Leh, Ladakh, where Dalai Lama expressed deep concern over the tragedy and prayed for those who lost their lives, those still missing, and people affected by the disaster.

In presence of the Dalai Lama, members of the public recited the Avalokiteshvara mantra, also known as the six-syllable mantra, in memory of the victims and for the well-being of the affected families and communities.

A specialised team from India for Tunnel search and rescue operation worked with the Nepali Army's team at hydropower tunnel sites in Chilime and Langtang area on Sunday. The team will continue to conduct search and rescue operations in close coordination with the Nepali Army, informed Naveen Srivastava, Ambassador of India in Nepal.

Authorities in Nepal warned of possible fresh flooding on Sunday and urged residents in flood-affected districts to remain on high alert after water levels rose in Bhotekoshi River. Flood warning notices were sent to people's phones early Sunday as rescue crews worked to clear a major highway connecting Kathmandu to one of the areas worst hit by Wednesday's catastrophic floods.

The latest warnings came after Chinese authorities informed their Nepalese counterparts of increased water flow upstream, according to Dharam Raj Uprety, chief executive of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. Chinese state news agency Xinhua, citing the country’s water resources ministry, said a new lake formed after Wednesday’s floods high in the mountains had largely drained. But Xinhua said the ministry warned that a crater located 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) upstream, which held an estimated 1.4 million cubic meters of water, still posed some risk and required close monitoring.

A 19-member specialised forensic team from India commenced operations in Kathmandu on Sunday to assist Nepalese authorities with DNA sample analysis for identifying victims of the catastrophic flash floods.

According to an official status update issued by the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, the Ambassador of India to Nepal met and briefed the forensics team prior to their technical consultations with counterparts at the Nepal Police's Central Forensic Science Laboratory and the Forensics Department of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.

Concurrently, India's specialised tunnel rescue team continued joint operations alongside the Nepali Army at damaged hydropower project sites in Chilime and Langtang.

Despite severe weather conditions, the MEA noted that the tunnel team managed to enter a structure near the Langtang hydroelectric project and retrieved the mortal remains of one individual. Search and recovery operations in the area remain ongoing.

The MEA further confirmed that 403 Indian nationals safely crossed the border into Nepal from China today, according to local government sources on the Chinese side. An additional 500 Indian nationals remain on the Chinese side and have been confirmed safe.