Nepal warns of more possible floods as communities grapple with devastation

Resident surveys swollen Trishuli River in Dhading District, Nepal, on August 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Authorities in Nepal have cautioned of potential additional flooding and advised residents in affected regions to stay vigilant after water levels rose in the Bhotekoshi River. Flood alert messages reached citizens via their phones early Sunday morning.

Rescue teams were busy clearing a major highway linking Kathmandu to one of the regions hardest hit by Wednesday’s devastating floods. In Galchhi, a community migrated to a higher point on a nearby bridge as the river rushed by. Eyewitnesses pointed out large boulders that had been swept downstream during earlier floods; others on a suspension bridge over the water were shushed by whistles.

Homes, automobiles, and farm tractors were visible protruding from the thick gray-brown debris that engulfed entire villages in the worst-affected flood zones. Rice fields along riverbanks had suffered landslides, hurling parts of their crops into the river. Nepal’s disaster agency reported the overall death toll rising to 750 with over 3,000 people still unaccounted for, while Chinese authorities announced 16 fatalities and 546 missing, including numerous Nepalis and nationals from various countries.

The fresh alerts followed Chinese officials notifying their Nepalese counterparts of heightened water flow upstream, according to Dharam Raj Uprety, chief executive of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. Residents of the areas inundated by floods, however, expressed difficulty comprehending the incessant alerts they have been receiving since the initial floods.