The number of officially confirmed deaths from the catastrophic landslide and subsequent massive flooding in Nepal has reached 1,386 people. The information was officially announced in the latest summary of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Management Agency (NDRRMA) and confirmed by the Nepal Police.
Rescue operations in the worst-hit Rasuwa region continue in a complicated situation. Authorities report that 5,130 people are still missing, including dozens of foreign tourists and hundreds of workers from local hydroelectric plants. According to journalistic investigations by the local media myRepublica (h**s://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/rasuwa-floods-1386-bodies-recovered-5130-people-still-missing-29-46.html), the number of victims also includes numerous human remains found along the Trishuli River, which are yet to be identified through DNA analysis.
Cause of the disaster and the climatic factor
The natural cataclysm, which began in late August, was caused by a sudden collapse of a high-altitude glacier on the Langtang Lirung peak in the Himalayas, near the border between Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The huge mass of ice, rocks and mud unleashed a devastating wave along the Bothe Koshi River corridor, which literally wiped out dozens of villages, roads and critical infrastructure.
The international scientific portal Phys.org (h**s://phys.org/news/2026-09-nepal-disaster-exposes-cascading-threats.html) published an analysis of experts who define the tragedy as a vivid example of “cascading threats“. Global warming in the Himalayas is accelerating the melting of glaciers and creating unstable glacial lakes, leading to unpredictable chain disasters.
The Nepalese government has already declared a state of emergency in 15 municipalities, while appealing to the international community for urgent humanitarian aid and support in the fight against climate change. To date, joint teams of the army and police have managed to rescue and evacuate more than 13,600 people from disaster areas.