Nepal flash floods LIVE: Nearly 160 killed, over 750 missing; rescuers search for survivors - The Hindu

**Nepal Flash Floods Leave Nearly 160 Dead and More Than 750 Missing**

*Kathmandu, August 27 — The Himalayan nation is reeling from one of its deadliest natural disasters in decades. A sudden glacial‑lake outburst on the Nepal‑China border sent a wall of water surging down the Sun Kosi river basin, wiping out villages, bridges and roads across the districts of Makwanpur, Sindhuli and Rautahat. According to the Nepalese Ministry of Home Affairs, the death toll has risen to **159** confirmed victims, with **over 750** people still unaccounted for. The catastrophe has also crossed the border; India’s Ministry of External Affairs reports **133 Indian nationals** among the **844** missing, prompting a coordinated bilateral rescue effort.*

*Rescue and relief operations are now under way on a massive scale. The Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority have deployed helicopters, boats and ground teams to scour the flooded valleys. India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Indian Army have sent search‑and‑rescue contingents to the affected border districts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, while the International Red Cross, UNICEF and several NGOs are distributing food, clean water and medical supplies. Aerial footage released by the government shows entire hamlets reduced to mud, with only a handful of structures still standing. Officials say the floodwaters, estimated at more than **400 cubic metres per second**, have receded enough to allow limited access, but many areas remain isolated and dangerous.*

*The disaster has reignited calls for stronger monitoring of glacial lakes in the Himalayas. Scientists from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology warned months ago that the Imja‑tsho‑like lake at the border was reaching a critical level, but limited resources hampered mitigation work. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal declared a **nation‑wide emergency** and appealed for international aid, while President Ram Chandra Poudel visited the hardest‑hit villages to console survivors. In the coming days, authorities will focus on locating the missing, providing shelter for the displaced—estimated at **more than 10,000**—and beginning the long process of rebuilding infrastructure along the river corridor.***

---