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Photos: Devastation from the Nepal-China floods

Al Jazeera · 2026-08-30

AI SUMMARY

• What happened: A glacier collapse in the Himalayas triggered catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-China border, resulting in at least 797 deaths and over 3,000 people reported missing. • Why it matters: The flooding has devastated communities, swept away infrastructure, and left hundreds of hydropower workers unaccounted for, affecting approximately 93,000 people in Nepal. • What to watch next: Rescue operations are ongoing as teams face challenges from blocked routes and new landslides, with a focus on locating missing individuals and assessing the full extent of the damage.

In PicturesSaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkA woman at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu looks at photographs of people missing after the flash floods. [Manan Vatsyayana/AFP]By AFP, AP and ReutersPublished On 30 Aug 202630 Aug 2026At least 797 people have been killed, and more than 3,000 remain missing after a glacier collapse high in the Himalayas triggered catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-China border.The torrent tore through the Trishuli and Bhotekoshi river systems on Wednesday, sweeping away villages, roads and hydropower projects and carrying bodies as far as India.In Nepal alone, hundreds of hydropower workers remain unaccounted for and roughly 93,000 people have been affected as rescue teams contend with collapsed bridges, blocked tunnels and new landslides.The flash flooding has left communities along the Trishuli River covered in mud and debris. [Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo]Relatives comfort Jantari Gurung, whose husband is missing, as she looks at photographs of people killed in the flash floods displayed outside a government hospital in Kathmandu. [Dar Yasin/AP Photo]Damaged homes filled with mud and debris are seen in Devighat in Nepal’s Nuwakot district. [Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo]Emergency workers carry the bodies of flash flood victims for a mass burial in Nepal's Chitwan district. [Nisha Shrestha/AP Photo]A girl sits inside a building damaged by the flash floods in the Dhading district of Nepal. [Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo]Rescue workers carry a flash flood victim to safety along the Trishuli River in Nepal’s Nuwakot district. [Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo]A woman stands on the roof of the mud-covered Baireni community in Nepal’s Dhading district. [Manan Vatsyayana/AFP]Muddy floodwater surges past houses along the Trishuli River in Betrawati in Nepal’s Nuwakot district. [Prabin Ranabhat/AFP]Sunita Chitrakar, 40, cries as she holds chickens she rescued from her house after deadly flash floods and mudslides in Devighat in Nepal’s Nuwakot district. [Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters]A woman climbs out of a window after searching for belongings in a mud-filled house in Devighat. [Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters]Houses in Baireni are covered in mud after the flash floods. [Manan Vatsyayana/AFP]People salvage goods from a grocery store damaged by flash floods in the Dhading district. [Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo]A man walks through sludge in the aftermath of flash floods in Trishuli in Nepal’s Nuwakot district. [Arun Sankar/AFP]A flash flood survivor is taken to a medical camp in Nepal’s Nuwakot district. [Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo]Fire and rescue personnel search for survivors at Gyirong Port days after the August 26, 2026, mudslide that destroyed the port in Gyirong County in western China’s Tibet region. [China News Service via AFP]Women carry belongings from their damaged homes after a flash flood and mudslide in Galchhi, Nepal. [Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters]A resident salvages belongings from damaged homes after flash floods along the banks of the Trishuli River in Nepal’s Dhading district. [Narendra Shrestha/EPA]People rescued and airlifted from flood-affected areas arrive at Maithili Barrack, an army training centre in Trishuli serving as a primary base for receiving airlifted flood and mudslide survivors. [Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]A team from the Nepal police and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority retrieves money and documents from a bank covered in sludge after flash floods in Trishuli. [Arun Sankar/AFP]A woman cries as she waits for news of relatives missing after flash floods in Bidur in Nepal’s Nuwakot district. [Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo]Police carry the body of a child killed in flash floods and mudslides at Maithili Barrack. [Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]A boy looks at devastation caused by flash floods along the Trishuli River in Nepal’s Nuwakot district. [Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo]Houses lie in ruins after flash floods in Bidur. [EPA]Rescue personnel try to reach workers trapped in a flooded tunnel at the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project in Nepal’s Rasuwa district. [Handout/Nepal Prime Minister's Office via Reuters]Police carry a body to a burial pit at the Devghat mass burial site for victims of deadly flash floods and mudslides in Nepal’s Chitwan district. [Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]Mud covers the floor of a classroom damaged by recent flash floods at Shree Bagheswori Madhyamik School in Galchhi in Nepal’s Dhading district. [Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo]A family photograph lies on a mud-covered mattress outside a house after flash floods in Devighat in Nepal’s Nuwakot district. [Maanan Vatsyayana/AFP]Damaged houses sit along the banks of the Trishuli River in Nepal’s Dhading district. [Narendra Shrestha/EPA]A woman helps a boy put up a photograph of her missing relative on a wall lined with images of missing and deceased people outside a government hospital in Kathmandu. [Dar Yasin/AP Photo]

Source: Al Jazeera
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