Nepal Flood Toll Rises to 939, ~3,925 Still Missing

Nepal's death toll from the catastrophic Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river flash floods has risen to 939, according to the country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), up from 903 reported four days earlier. The floods were triggered on August 26 at around 8:37 a.m. local time, when a roughly 600-meter-wide glacier mass near Langtang Lirung mountain, about 64 kilometers north of Kathmandu, collapsed and fell some 1,200 meters, unleashing an ice avalanche that turned into a catastrophic flash flood within minutes.

NDRRMA's latest update puts the number of people still unaccounted for at roughly 3,925, down from the 4,247 figure cited a day earlier — officials have not fully explained the discrepancy. Across the border, Chinese authorities report a separate toll of 16 dead and 546 missing in Tibet, where nearly 800 emergency workers and 150 vehicles have been deployed alongside People's Liberation Army rescue teams.

District-level figures released by NDRRMA show Chitwan hit hardest with 279 recovered bodies, followed by Nawalparasi East (216), Nawalparasi West (168), Nuwakot (95), Gorkha (65), Dhading (55), Tanahu (38) and Rasuwa (23).

More than 10,000 people have been rescued since the disaster struck, according to NDRRMA, with search-and-rescue teams still combing swollen rivers and damaged roads and bridges for those still missing. Officials have cautioned that both the death toll and the missing count could still change as recovery operations continue.