Nepal is facing a deepening humanitarian crisis as the death toll from last week’s devastating flash floods has risen to 1,222, with another 4,875 people still missing, according to a recent update by PUNCH, which cited The Hindu and Nepalese authorities.
Rescue teams are continuing to search through collapsed structures, debris and isolated communities a week after the floods swept through large parts of the Himalayan nation, destroying homes, roads and bridges and cutting off several communities.
The figures cited by PUNCH from The Hindu, which relied on data from Nepal Police and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, show that Chitawan recorded the highest number of deaths with 348, followed by Nawalparasi East with 218 and Nawalparasi West with 208.
Nuwakot has recorded 155 deaths, while 127 bodies have been recovered in Rasuwa, 69 in Gorkha, 60 in Dhading and 38 in Tanahu, underscoring the widespread nature of the disaster.
The search for survivors and missing persons has been complicated by the destruction of transport and communication infrastructure. Of those still missing, 583 are foreigners, according to the figures reported by PUNCH.
The Nepal Army and other security agencies have deployed about 21,314 personnel for rescue operations, with 11,993 people so far evacuated by helicopter and through land routes.
The desperate conditions facing survivors were highlighted in Bidur, where residents have resorted to 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 help people move between affected communities.
The crossing has also become a lifeline for people requiring medical attention and communities in need of food, medicines and other essential supplies, as authorities struggle to reconnect areas cut off by the floods.
The disaster has extended beyond Nepal into neighbouring Tibet, where flooding in Gyirong county near the Nepal border has killed 21 people and left 541 others missing, according to Chinese authorities cited in the PUNCH report.
China has since reopened the highway leading to the Gyirong border crossing after floodwaters damaged sections of the route, allowing heavy rescue equipment to reach the affected area. Reuters, also cited in the report, said specialist teams using life-detection equipment and dogs had been deployed.
India has meanwhile expanded its humanitarian response, with a fifth aircraft arriving in Nepal carrying an 11-member rescue team, specialised equipment and 5.5 tonnes of essential medicines, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
Beyond the immediate rescue effort, the disaster has renewed debate over environmental management and development in the fragile Himalayan region. Environmentalist Sunita Narain has attributed the scale of the flooding partly to decades of intensive intervention in rivers and mountains, particularly through extensive hydropower development.
With thousands still missing and vital infrastructure destroyed, Nepal’s authorities face a daunting recovery operation. The continuing searches offer hope to families still waiting for loved ones, but the full human and economic cost of the disaster remains uncertain.
