By Abdullahi Lukman and Faridat Salifu
The death toll from devastating floods and landslides in Nepal has climbed to 734, with hundreds still missing in Nepal and neighbouring Tibet, as persistent rain and thick mud continue to hamper rescue operations on the fifth day.
Nepal’s disaster management authorities released the latest figure on Sunday. In Tibet, Chinese officials reported 16 confirmed deaths and 546 people still missing after a landslide struck on Wednesday. Chinese state media said 261 of those missing in Tibet are foreign nationals from 23 countries, including 15 British citizens.
The scale of the disaster, reportedly triggered by a glacial collapse that sent a sudden surge down the Bhote Koshi River, has made it Nepal’s deadliest in more than a decade. The floods destroyed homes, roads, bridges and hydropower facilities in the mountainous Rasuwa district and blocked access to tunnels in northern Nepal where several people are believed trapped.
The United Kingdom has deployed a specially trained Rapid Deployment Team to Kathmandu to assist British nationals and their families affected by the floods.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO, said the team arrived on Saturday to strengthen consular operations, provide information to families searching for missing relatives, and coordinate with Nepalese authorities and emergency responders.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the deployment reflects the government’s priority to protect British citizens. Britain also pledged £5 million in humanitarian assistance through the UN, Red Cross and NGOs, building on 15 years of UK support to strengthen Nepal’s climate resilience.
India and China have sent specialist teams to assist, while the United States pledged $3.6 million in aid. Relief officials said the Nepalese government has begun airlifting supplies by helicopter and is considering drones to reach isolated communities.
The FCDO advised British nationals needing help to contact the British Embassy in Kathmandu. Officials warned that wet conditions could persist until Monday, further complicating search and rescue efforts.
The disaster has renewed urgent calls for greater investment in climate resilience and early-warning systems from the world’s most vulnerable nations.
The Least Developed Countries, LDC, Group, representing 44 countries, said the floods demonstrate the growing risks facing mountain communities and developing countries. In a letter signed by LDC Chair Adão Soares Barbosa, the bloc expressed solidarity with Nepal and urged the international community to strengthen support for rescue, relief, recovery and reconstruction.
“This disaster is a painful reminder of the growing vulnerability of mountain communities and developing countries to climate-related and cascading risks,” the LDC Group said.
The group called for increased, predictable and timely finance for adaptation, resilience-building and early-warning systems, warning that existing systems are being overwhelmed by the growing intensity of climate hazards. It also renewed its demand for adequate loss and damage finance to address destruction that cannot be prevented through adaptation.
Manjeet Dhakal, a Nepali climate diplomacy expert advising the LDC Group under the UNFCCC, described the destruction as “beyond imagination” and said disasters of this magnitude are putting resilience systems under increasing pressure.
The LDCs noted the climate justice dimension: Nepal contributes a very small share of global emissions but faces disproportionate exposure to floods, landslides and glacier-related hazards, while having limited resources to prepare and recover.
Nepal’s terrain makes communities highly exposed to climate shocks, but response is often constrained by resources and access. Despite the destruction, authorities say thousands have been rescued. In Tibet, officials said the immediate threat from a landslide-dammed lake has subsided, though the risk of further mudslides remains. Monitoring stations have been set up along the border.
The disaster is placing renewed scrutiny on whether the international climate finance system can deliver resources quickly enough to strengthen resilience and reduce human and economic costs in vulnerable countries.
Authorities continue to maintain rainfall warnings across the disaster zone as search operations continue.
