20,000 Nepalese Families Need New Homes as Glacier Disaster Damage Tops $2.5 Billion

Nepal is preparing to rebuild about 20,000 homes after floods triggered by a glacier collapse caused at least $2.56 billion in damage. Many surviving houses can no longer be used, prompting plans to relocate reconstruction to safer areas.

The disaster began on Aug. 26, when a glacier collapse unleashed an avalanche of ice, rock and mud. The surge struck Nepal’s border region with China, destroying villages and settlements. Preliminary estimates show that 7,500 houses were completely destroyed, either swept away by floodwaters or buried under debris and mud, said Dharma Raj Upreti, head of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

Upreti told Reuters that immediate measures over the first four months would require about $52.6 million. The money would go toward repairing roads, creating temporary accommodation and restoring access to drinking water and electricity. Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told ambassadors in Kathmandu that reconstruction would require considerable resources.

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Our preliminary estimates indicate that 7,500 houses were completely destroyed, either swept away by floodwaters or buried under debris and mud.

The death toll in Nepal has reached at least 1,252, while more than 4,200 people remain missing and thousands have been displaced. Authorities also reported 21 deaths and 541 missing people on the Chinese side of the region, in Tibet. Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s government designated Sept. 7, the 13th day after the disaster, as a national day of mourning, reflecting the Hindu tradition that the 13th day marks the end of the formal mourning period.

More than 9,300 Nepalese soldiers have been deployed across affected areas, including Timure in Rasuwa district, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan and East Nawalparasi. They are searching for survivors, recovering victims, clearing roads and providing first aid. Operations are also focused on hydropower projects, where rescuers supported by specialists from India, South Korea and China are trying to reach at least 900 people believed trapped in tunnels.

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We anticipate that the resources needed for reconstruction will be considerable.