Rasuwa (Nepal) (AFP) – Hopes of finding survivors are dwindling a week after the deadly flood on the border of Nepal and China, but rescuers tirelessly continued their search on Wednesday in the mud and debris.
Published on: 02/09/2026 - 07:53 Modified on: 02/09/2026 - 16:53
According to the latest reports, they have already removed more than 1,200 bodies but more than 4,700 people were still missing since the gigantic wave of icy water, rocks and debris hit this region of the Himalayas on August 26.
Seven days later, Nepal remains terrified by the scale of the disaster that struck it.
“It’s an unimaginable disaster,” Dhruba Prasad Adhikari, the deputy head of the devastated and still isolated Rasuwa district, told AFP. “We have to face reality, this flood goes beyond anything we could have imagined.”
In the capital Kathmandu, the patience of the families and loved ones of the missing who have been touring hospitals and morgues for days in search of information is being severely tested.
Hundreds of them marched all day Wednesday in front of a red brick police hospital building to give a sample of their DNA for identification, fatalistically.
“It’s been a week since my father gave any sign of life,” Susmita Lo, 21, told AFP, holding her 6-year-old nephew in her arms. "He is here because his father is also missing (...) We haven't told him anything yet, he is too young."
“Free your soul”
Other families did not wait until they had recovered the bodies of their loved ones and organized symbolic funeral ceremonies where, according to Hindu tradition, they cremated straw dummies.
“We had to do it to free his soul, so that he would be at peace and happy, wherever he was,” Dolma Newar Tamang, whose husband was near the Nepal-Chinese border post of Gyirong when the wave completely wiped him out, told AFP.
“I saw the news and immediately called him,” she said. “I tried several times, but he never responded.”
Nepalese rescue workers remain hopeful of finding survivors, particularly in the numerous tunnels of hydroelectric power stations or dam sites in the region, where they have so far only found lifeless bodies.
“Efforts are continuing to rescue anyone who may still be stranded,” emergency management agency spokeswoman Shanti Mahat told AFP.
“Miracles exist,” assured Nepalese Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal on Tuesday during an interview with AFP, saying he was “not completely losing hope.”
In power for only six months, the Prime Minister, the former rapper turned mayor of Kathmandu Balendra Shah, 36, took stock of the situation in Parliament on Wednesday for the first time.
“Global Responsibility”
“My heart freezes when I hear the cries of the victims,” he said in an emotional speech. “Even though our bodies are tired, it is not yet time to rest. Even with broken hearts, it is not yet time to sit down and cry.”
Mr. Shah questioned the role of global warming in the catastrophe and highlighted the injustice affecting his country, one of those which contributes the least to global warming.
“Climate change is the result of global action, responding to disasters is also a global responsibility,” he reiterated.
Numerous scientific studies have revealed that the Himalayas are warming faster than average, causing accelerated melting of glaciers which poses the threat of an increase in disasters.
The UN has estimated the cost of destroyed buildings in Nepal at $158 million (136.5 million euros), warning that the final bill - including damage to infrastructure, agricultural land and human losses - would be much higher.
Kathmandu has already warned that the price of reconstruction will be in the "billions of dollars".
The provisional toll from the flood worsened further on Wednesday to reach a total of 1,225 dead - 1,204 in Nepal and 21 in China - and 4,757 missing - 4,216 and 541 respectively.
Among those missing are hundreds of tourists, pilgrims and foreign workers.
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© 2026 AFP
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