Disasters & Incidents
Tibet flood toll rises to 43, with 519 missing
Chinese state media said the death toll in Tibet from the Himalayan floods along the China-Nepal border has risen to 43, with 519 people missing, bringing the disaster's reported overall toll to nearly 1,400 dead and more than 5,500 missing across the two countries.
Xinhua reported Sunday that the latest count in Tibet had increased from 31 deaths. The disaster followed a glacial and mountain collapse on August 26 that sent floods and mudslides through mountain districts on both sides of the border.
In Nepal, authorities had previously reported 1,331 bodies recovered and about 5,000 people missing. Rescue teams have searched damaged hydropower sites and remote communities after roads, bridges and hydropower dams were destroyed.
The United Nations has launched a $50 million appeal to help more than 84,000 people affected by the disaster. Tibetan advocacy groups in exile have questioned China's account of the disaster, while Beijing says information has been released openly and transparently.
Update
Chinese state media reported the Tibet death toll rose from 31 to 43.
The latest reported Tibet missing count is 519.
The disaster is now described as having killed nearly 1,400 people and left more than 5,500 missing across China and Nepal.
Source note: AFP news report published on 6 September 2026 at 09:52:10 UTC.
Update
Nepal's national disaster agency revised the number of bodies recovered in Nepal to 1,331 from an earlier 1,344.
The overall stated death toll based on Nepal and Chinese state media figures is now 1,362, with more than 5,500 missing.
Nepal's energy ministry said rescuers were planning to use customised drones provided by Switzerland for tunnel search operations.
Nepal's provisional damage assessment said more than 7,500 houses, 48 public buildings and about 100 bridges had been destroyed.
A team reached the remote Nepal-China border crossing at Timure in Rasuwa district and reinstalled Nepal's flag, according to Prime Minister Balendra Shah.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 September 2026 at 14:20:14 UTC.
Update
Nepal's Armed Police Force pulled 64-year-old Chandrika Shrestha alive from her partially submerged home in Nuwakot district.
Police said Shrestha was found while teams were clearing the area and was airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment.
A video released by Nepal's Armed Police Force showed lower floors of the home submerged in thick sludge.
Drone operators were delivering medicine, food and other supplies and transporting bodies in hard-to-reach high-altitude areas.
The United Nations launched a $50 million appeal to help more than 84,000 people affected by the disaster.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 September 2026 at 10:57:48 UTC.
Update
Nepal’s army said the Chinese national was rescued from 225 metres inside the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project tunnel in Rasuwa district.
The rescued man was identified only as Luhaitao.
Nepal’s disaster agency said 1,344 bodies had been recovered in Nepal and around 5,000 people were missing.
Chinese state media said 31 people had been killed and 531 were missing in China, bringing the stated overall toll to 1,375 dead and more than 5,500 missing.
Nepal Police said about 1,030 bodies had been buried in mass graves after DNA samples were taken.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 September 2026 at 08:59:55 UTC.
Update
An army spokesman told AFP that a Chinese national was rescued alive from a tunnel in Nepal.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 September 2026 at 08:08:04 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The exact current combined death toll is given only as nearly 1,400, not as a precise total.
The exact cause of the glacial and mountain collapse remains unclear.
The China-side figures come from Chinese state media and have been questioned by Tibetan advocacy groups in exile.
Source
AFP news report published on .