Nepal Floods Spur Desperate Rescue and Relief Efforts

Rescue teams in Nepal and China are continuing a difficult search for thousands of people missing nearly two weeks after catastrophic floods near the China-Nepal border. Authorities believe the disaster was likely triggered by a glacial collapse. Across the two countries, at least 1,384 people have died and more than 5,500 remain missing, including approximately 800 foreign nationals. Nepal’s national disaster agency reported that 1,341 bodies had been recovered and that roughly 4,996 people were still missing. In Tibet, the reported death toll stood at 43, with 519 people missing. Four survivors were found after Friday, including three discovered in tunnels at hydropower facilities. Rescue operations remain hampered by difficult geography, severe weather, poor connectivity, mud, and the threat of additional landslides. At Gyirong, a five-storey customs building was destroyed, while teams used shovels, excavators, and ground-penetrating radar to search for victims. The reopening of the only road to the area has allowed heavy machinery to reach the site. Nepal is also presenting the disaster as a climate-justice issue. The government has asked the United Nations-backed Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage to help cover the enormous costs of the floods. The United Nations has appealed for $50m to assist more than 84,000 people. Nepal’s foreign minister argued that major greenhouse-gas emitters have a historical responsibility to help vulnerable countries. Climate experts say glacier-related floods have become more frequent as global temperatures rise, with a UN study finding that such events are nearly five times more common than in 1950. The article also describes the psychological effects of the disaster. At a monastery shelter in Kathmandu, survivors—many of them children—are beginning to confront the loss of their families and homes. Volunteers believe their emotions may remain suppressed until the trauma emerges in the months and years ahead.

The article reports that rescue teams in Nepal are searching tunnels at the Chilime hydropower plant for people who may still be trapped after severe flooding struck the region. The search is taking place more than a week after the floods, indicating that rescuers are working in difficult and potentially dangerous conditions during the disaster’s aftermath. The report focuses on the ongoing emergency response rather than providing confirmed information about the number of missing people, survivors, casualties, or the specific condition of the tunnels. Al Jazeera correspondent Tony Cheng reports from northern Nepal, where the hydropower facility is located and where the flooding caused widespread disruption. The brief video-news report highlights the uncertainty surrounding those who may remain inside the tunnels and the efforts of rescue personnel to locate and assist them. It does not include details about the floods’ precise cause, the scale of damage to the Chilime plant, the identities of anyone trapped, or the progress of the search. Overall, the story presents a continuing rescue operation more than a week after a devastating natural disaster, with the possibility of survivors keeping the response active. Its primary function is to inform viewers about the search and the humanitarian consequences of the flooding.

The article reports the rescue of Chandika Shrestha, a 64-year-old woman who was found alive after a devastating flow of ice, rock and mud struck a Himalayan valley in Nepal. More than 10 days after the disaster, rescuers were still searching damaged and partially buried homes and continued to discover survivors. Shrestha was located on the fourth floor of her house in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, despite the building being partly buried by the debris. Members of Nepal’s Armed Police Force found her on 5 September, according to Reuters. Following her rescue, she was airlifted to a hospital in Kathmandu for medical treatment. The report highlights both the destructive scale of the disaster and the continuing emergency response in the affected region. Shrestha’s survival and recovery after being trapped in a mud-buried home provide a hopeful element amid the wider devastation. The article is presented as a short news video report, with the rescue moment serving as its central focus. It provides limited information about the original event, including the precise cause of the ice, rock and mud flow, the number of people affected, or Shrestha’s medical condition after reaching the hospital. Its primary emphasis is on the ongoing rescue operation and the remarkable discovery of a survivor more than a week after the disaster.

Chandika Kumari Shrestha, an elderly woman from Betrawati village in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, was found alive 10 days after devastating flash floods and mudslides destroyed her home. Her family had believed she had died and had begun an 11-day mourning ritual when rescuers heard her calling for help while searching the ruins of her four-storey house. The building had been swept away and left surrounded by flood debris and mud that had hardened almost like concrete. During a 45-minute rescue operation, Nepal Police officers located Shrestha in a narrow pocket of air inside the collapsed structure and transported her to an army hospital. She was one of hundreds of people reported missing in Betrawati, one of the areas hardest hit by the disaster. The floods buried much of the town’s market and residential buildings and killed more than 1,300 people across Nepal, while thousands remained unaccounted for. Rescue crews continued digging through debris, entering gaps in collapsed buildings and blowing whistles to identify possible survivors. Authorities also recovered bodies, including 24 decomposed victims from a building in Betrawati’s market area. Eleven days after a glacial collapse triggered the floods, nearly 5,000 people were still missing, according to the report. Bodies had been carried far from the worst-hit Rasuwa district, and mass burials of unidentified victims had taken place in Chitwan. Despite diminishing hopes, rescuers continued searching tunnels and mud-covered structures. Since Friday, three people had been rescued from tunnels, including a Chinese citizen near the Trishuli River. Shrestha’s survival, along with that of an eight-year-old boy reunited with his mother, offered rare signs of hope amid the devastation.

Two people were rescued in separate operations in Nepal 10 days after devastating floods struck the country, officials said. The rescues brought the number of workers pulled alive from the Trishuli 3A hydropower project to three. A joint team of Nepalese military personnel and South Korean disaster experts rescued a man from a 738-foot hydropower tunnel. Nepal’s army said he was undergoing a health assessment, while images showed him being evacuated by helicopter. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the man was in stable condition after being taken to a hospital. He said he had repeatedly shouted when he saw the lights of rescue crews, but they were unable to hear him. He described being rescued as difficult to believe. Rescue efforts have expanded to 12 hydropower projects across Nepal. Authorities estimate that about 900 workers are missing and roughly 500 may be trapped in tunnels. Teams from India, China, South Korea and the United States are searching debris, damaged structures and tunnels for survivors. Separately, Nepalese rescuers found a woman alive inside a mud-covered house in the flood-hit town of Nuwakot. She was given bottled water, wrapped in a gray blanket and airlifted toward Kathmandu for medical care. The floods killed at least 1,300 people and left more than 5,000 missing, according to Nepal’s disaster management agency. Officials said the disaster was likely caused by a glacier collapse. The latest rescues offered hope amid a large-scale emergency response focused on locating survivors and assisting communities devastated by flooding and mudslides.

This France 24 video report, issued on September 6, 2026, covers continuing search and rescue operations in Nepal on the 12th day after catastrophic floods. It reports that Nepali rescuers were facing challenging conditions, indicating that the operation remained difficult well after the initial flooding. The search effort received renewed hope following the extraordinary rescue of four survivors, although the report does not provide their identities, condition, or details about how they were located. The flooding has also affected infrastructure and roads, creating additional obstacles for rescuers and potentially limiting access to impacted areas. The report does not specify the exact search locations, the number of people still missing, the death toll, the scale of infrastructure damage, or the agencies involved. Instead, it provides a brief update and directs viewers to correspondent Shahzaib Wahlah for further details in the accompanying video. The central message is that search operations are continuing despite difficult conditions and widespread disruption to transportation and infrastructure. The rescue of four survivors is presented as an exceptional and encouraging development amid an otherwise severe disaster. The report emphasizes the persistence of Nepali rescuers and the continuing consequences of the floods. As provided, the article is primarily a short video description rather than a full written account, so its factual details are limited to the 12-day search timeline, the rescue of four survivors, the difficult conditions, and the impact on roads and infrastructure.

Flash floods and mudslides that struck Nepal on August 26 have killed more than 1,300 people and left tens of thousands isolated from roads, bridges, medical care and other infrastructure. A glacial collapse sent ice and boulders downriver across Nepal and Tibet, reportedly leaving more than 5,300 people missing. Entire villages and towns were inundated by mud, while some buildings lost walls several storeys above ground level. Families have been separated by destroyed bridges and, in some cases, cannot determine whether relatives survived. As official rescue efforts continue, Nepali entrepreneurs, philanthropists and aid workers are organizing volunteer missions to reach remote communities. They are trekking through thick mud, using helicopters and crossing rivers by zipline to deliver blankets, clothing, food, medicine, tents and sanitary products. The Nepal Army has installed ziplines to move supplies, injured people and residents across swollen rivers, while police are using drones to search for survivors. Two people were also rescued from a tunnel near the Trishuli Hydropower project. Shree Lamichhane, a Nepali-US businessman with businesses in Dubai, returned to flood-hit areas including Trishuli Bazaar, Devighat and Nuwakot district soon after the disaster. He traveled with friends from Nepal, Belgium, India and the United States, distributing supplies to people sheltering in schools. He said many survivors had lost their homes, vehicles and businesses and would have to begin again from nothing. He plans to continue taking aid to communities that have received little assistance. Rajani Thapa, a Kathmandu-based aid worker and vice president of Junior Chamber International, is also helping teams reach locations without road access. She described severe shortages of food and drinking water, widespread injuries and the need for long-term shelter and support. The article emphasizes both the immediate humanitarian emergency and the prolonged recovery Nepal will face as families search for missing relatives and survivors rebuild their lives.

FRANCE 24’s weekly photo roundup, published on September 6, 2026, presents images documenting disasters, conflict, politics, migration, sport and extreme weather across several regions. In Nepal, photographs show devastation near the Trishuli River after deadly flash floods and a mudslide, as rescuers search for workers trapped in tunnels at the Trishuli-3A Hydropower Project. Two workers were reportedly rescued after more than a week beneath debris. The roundup also depicts a mass funeral in southern Iran for victims of an alleged US missile strike on a wedding celebration in Kuhestak, including a four-year-old child and a 16-year-old. In Kyiv, residents inspect a heavily damaged building after Russia launched drones and ballistic missiles at the city and surrounding region, killing at least 12 people and injuring 21. Other images focus on a volunteer night watch in the West Bank intended to deter Israeli settler attacks, Naomi Osaka competing at the US Open, and a London event attended by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, French President Emmanuel Macron and King Charles III. Migration is represented by two people sheltering on a beach in Ceuta amid controversy over the entry and return of tens of thousands of migrants. The gallery also includes Norway’s King Haakon VIII taking an oath of allegiance, traditional Kokpar competition at the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan, and a young Iraqi cooling off in the Shatt al-Arab River during soaring temperatures. Together, the images offer a broad visual record of a week marked by humanitarian emergencies, armed conflict, political ceremony, athletic competition and ordinary attempts to endure difficult conditions.