Death Toll Rises to 1,357 as Nepal Flood Search Continues, Hundreds Still Missing
A glacier collapse on the Nepal‑China border on Aug 26 triggered flash floods that have killed 1,357 people in Nepal and left 5,326 missing, while the disaster also claimed at least 43 lives in China with hundreds more unaccounted for. Rescue crews are concentrating on three hydropower tunnels—Chilime, Upper Trishuli 3A and 3B—where officials estimate up to 121 of the 900 missing workers could be trapped. Two hydropower workers have been rescued after being trapped for nine days, and about 70 Americans remain unaccounted for, with 18 reported safe. Families of missing workers have protested, urging faster army‑led rescue efforts, as Nepal’s disaster authority continues to coordinate with foreign specialists and aid agencies.
How this was covered
- Reported people missing range from 52 to 5,000 across outlets
Why it matters
The disaster leaves thousands dead or missing and threatens critical hydropower infrastructure, affecting regional energy supplies and the safety of workers and residents.
How this story developed
- Aug 28 Nepalese army pulls survivors from flooded hydropower tunnel in Rasuwa
- Sep 1 Death toll rose to at least 950 and missing counts climbed to over 4,400, including about 80 Americans and up to 43 Australians.
- Sep 1 An Australian survivor was located, reducing the number of missing Australians to 42.
- Sep 3 Families held symbolic funerals for missing victims.
- Sep 3 The storm made landfall on Fujian’s coast after earlier strikes on Zhejiang, leading to the suspension of dozens of ferry services and the closure of schools in Fuzhou and Quanzhou. Tourist sites such as theme parks in Fuzhou were also temporarily closed. The provincial emergency management authority warned of heavy rain, flash floods and landslides, while nearly a quarter-million residents in high-risk zones had been evacuated the previous week.
- Sep 3 Death toll rose above 1,270 and bodies recovered reached 1,252.
- Sep 5 A Canadian citizen missing after the floods was located safe.
- Sep 5 After more than a week of searching, a 64-year-old woman was rescued from a mud-filled house and a Chinese worker was saved from a deep tunnel, rekindling optimism amid Nepal's deadliest floods in a decade.
- Sep 5 Authorities suspended 24 passenger ferry routes and closed Fuzhou theme parks.
- Sep 6 Flash floods ripped a three‑storey building in Xianyou County and drones delivered supplies to a flooded school in Wenzhou.
- Sep 6 Officials are pursuing higher‑ground reconstruction of the school with Indian aid.
- Sep 7 Chinese worker Lu Haitao was rescued from a 225‑metre hydropower tunnel and air‑lifted to a hospital.
- Sep 7 The United Nations launched a $50 million appeal to aid flood‑affected residents.
- Sep 9 Two hydropower workers were rescued after being trapped for nine days.
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