Rescue teams continue operations as families hold symbolic funerals in Nepal for loved ones who remain missing after last week’s devastating flash floods
The combined death toll from last week’s devastating flash floods in Nepal and China has risen to 1,273, while 4,757 people remain missing, including 844 foreign nationals.
Nepal accounts for 1,252 deaths, with more than 4,200 people still missing, according to official data. In neighbouring China, 21 people have died and 541 remain missing, including 261 foreigners.
In Nepal’s worst-hit Rasuwa district, families have begun holding symbolic funerals for relatives whose bodies could not be recovered. Funeral effigies made from sacred grass were used during final rites, with dozens cremated at Kathmandu’s Pashupati Aryaghat temple on Wednesday.
In Chitwan, authorities buried unidentified bodies after collecting DNA samples, citing difficulties in storing and individually identifying the remains.
Military personnel, police and other rescuers continued search operations on Thursday despite damaged roads, disrupted electricity and communication networks. Relief teams are also working to deliver essential supplies and maintain hygiene in shelters.
The disaster struck on August 26 after an ice-rock avalanche near Nepal’s Mount Langtang Lirung triggered a massive debris flow. Floodwaters and mudslides devastated several districts in Nepal and also damaged the Gyirong border crossing in China’s Xizang region.
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