Disasters & Incidents
Nepal-Tibet mudslide deaths pass 1,000
The death toll from floods and a mudslide that tore through Nepal and Chinese-administered Tibet has surpassed 1,000, as memorial services were held in Tibet for victims, Chinese state media reported Tuesday.
Official figures put the number of deaths in China at 16, with another 546 people missing. At least 987 people have died in Nepal.
Gyirong, the hardest-hit county in Tibet, held several memorial services, including at rescue sites, China's Xinhua news agency said. Xinhua reported that rescuers, local officials and residents stood in silence to mourn the victims. Images published by state broadcaster CCTV showed soldiers, doctors and rescue workers observing a moment of silence near excavators and a swollen, muddy river.
Chinese rescuers were working Tuesday to reopen a major highway so emergency supplies and workers could reach the Gyirong Port border post, Xinhua said. The mudslide disrupted power supplies and damaged a highway section, hampering rescue efforts. Experts warned that the Gyirong area could face significant rainfall in the coming days.
China is expected to send a second batch of relief resources to Nepal on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. He said the supplies included drones, DNA testing equipment, water purification equipment, lighting equipment and other items urgently needed by Nepal.
Chinese authorities earlier penalised 10 people accused of spreading online misinformation about the disaster. China's cybersecurity authorities said the posts claimed the number of dead or missing was far above official figures. They did not specify what punishment each person received.
Tibet is largely inaccessible to foreign journalists, limiting independent reporting on the scale of the disaster.
Update
The total number of people killed in the Nepal-Tibet disaster has surpassed 1,000, including at least 987 deaths in Nepal and 16 in China.
Emergency workers, officials and residents held memorial services in Gyirong and other sites in Tibet on Tuesday.
Chinese rescuers were working to reopen a major highway to allow emergency supplies and workers to reach Gyirong Port.
China said it expected to send a second batch of relief supplies to Nepal on Tuesday.
Experts warned that the Gyirong area may face significant rainfall in the coming days.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 06:51:49 UTC.
Update
China's foreign ministry said information on the disaster had been released openly, transparently and in a timely way after questions about censorship and underreporting.
President Xi Jinping said China was making every effort to search for missing people on its side of the border.
Chinese state media reported rescue crews were pushing into the core disaster area despite high-altitude terrain, steep valleys and volatile weather.
Of those missing in Tibet, 261 were foreign nationals, including people from Nepal, India, Latvia and the United States.
China's emergency ministry said a lake formed by a landslide had naturally overflowed and basically emptied.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 August 2026 at 08:10:31 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Independent reporting on the disaster's scale in Tibet is limited because the region is largely inaccessible to foreign journalists.
The supplied material gives updated Nepal death figures but does not provide an updated Nepal missing figure.
Source
AFP news report published on .