By Abdullahi Lukman
The death toll from last week’s devastating flash floods in Nepal has climbed to 1,222, while 4,875 people remain missing as rescue teams continue searching through destroyed communities and debris one week after the disaster.
Nepal Police and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said bodies had been recovered across eight districts, with Chitawan recording the highest number of deaths at 348. Nawalparasi East reported 218 deaths, followed by Nawalparasi West with 208.
Other affected districts include Nuwakot, with 155 deaths; Rasuwa, 127; Gorkha, 69; Dhading, 60; and Tanahu, 38.
The search has been complicated by the destruction of roads, bridges and communication infrastructure, leaving many communities isolated. Among those reported missing are 583 foreigners.
A joint operation involving the Nepal Army and other security agencies has so far rescued 11,993 people by air and ground routes, with about 21,314 security personnel deployed for search and rescue operations.
In Bidur, survivors have resorted to a temporary cable crossing over the swollen Trishuli River after floodwaters destroyed key roads and bridges.
The Nepal Army installed the approximately 250-metre cable to help residents cross the river, including people requiring medical treatment and communities receiving food, medicine and other essential supplies.
The disaster has also affected areas across Nepal’s border with China. Chinese authorities reported 21 deaths and 541 people missing in Gyirong county in Tibet, where flooding damaged transport routes near the Nepal border.
China reopened the highway to the Gyirong border crossing on Wednesday after floodwaters destroyed sections of the road, enabling heavy rescue equipment to reach affected areas. Search teams using life-detection equipment and trained dogs have since been deployed.
India has also expanded its relief operation, sending a fifth aircraft to Nepal carrying an 11-member rescue team, specialised equipment and 5.5 tonnes of essential medicines, according to its Ministry of External Affairs.
The scale of the disaster has prompted renewed debate over development and environmental management in the Himalayan region. Environmentalist Sunita Narain argued that decades of intensive intervention in rivers and mountain ecosystems, including extensive hydropower development, may have increased the region’s vulnerability to extreme flooding.
With thousands of people still missing and vital transport links destroyed, authorities continue to face a major recovery and identification effort. The full human and economic cost of the floods remains unclear as search operations continue.
