Nepal flood: Death toll hits 1,222, 4,875 missing

Nepal’s flood disaster has killed 1,222 people, while 4,875 remain missing as rescuers search debris and isolated communities a week after the flash floods.

Bodies have been recovered across eight districts. Chitawan recorded the highest number of deaths at 348, followed by Nawalparasi East with 218 and Nawalparasi West with 208. Nuwakot recorded 155 deaths, Rasuwa 127, Gorkha 69, Dhading 60 and Tanahu 38. Among those still missing are 583 foreigners.

The Nepal Army and other security agencies have rescued 11,993 people by helicopter and land routes. About 21,314 security personnel are involved in the search and rescue operation. In Bidur, survivors have been using a temporary cable crossing over the swollen Trishuli River after floodwaters destroyed roads and bridges. The Nepal Army installed the roughly 250-metre crossing to move people, including those seeking medical care, medicines, food and other supplies.

The flooding also reached Tibet’s Gyirong county near the Nepal border, where Chinese authorities reported 21 deaths and 541 missing people. China reopened the highway to the Gyirong border crossing after floodwaters destroyed parts of the route, allowing heavy rescue equipment to reach the area. Search teams later deployed life-detection devices and dogs. India sent a fifth aircraft carrying an 11-member rescue team, specialised equipment and 5.5 tonnes of essential medicines.

The disaster has renewed scrutiny of development and environmental practices in the Himalayan region. Environmentalist Sunita Narain linked the scale of the flooding to decades of treating rivers and mountains as though they could be continually re-engineered, particularly through extensive hydropower development.