Nepal flash floods death toll surges past 1,300; thousands still missing

The death toll from catastrophic flash floods across Nepal has climbed to 1,355, with recovery operations ongoing in multiple districts, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said on Monday. Authorities have rescued 13,396 people so far, though 4,996 individuals remain missing, including at least 589 foreign nationals.

The hardest-hit areas include Chitwan district, where 363 bodies have been recovered, followed by Nawalparasi West and East with 221 and 222 deaths respectively. Nuwakot district has reported 197 fatalities, while Rasuwa, Gorkha, Dhading and Tanahu have each recorded between 38 and 169 deaths.

Security forces have intensified search and rescue operations across the flood-affected regions. Major recovery efforts are underway at several hydropower projects in the disaster zones, where hundreds of workers are believed trapped in tunnels. Expert teams dispatched from India and China are working alongside Nepali rescue personnel to locate and extract those missing from these critical infrastructure sites.

The scale of the disaster has stretched local resources, prompting the deployment of international assistance to accelerate recovery efforts and locate the remaining missing persons.