KATHMANDU, Sep 6: The death toll from the devastating floods along Nepal’s Bhote Koshi river has climbed to 1,341, while 4,044 people remain missing, according to the latest figures released by Nepal Police on Sunday.
The disaster has severely affected communities across the river basin, with Gyirong Port, identified as the epicentre of the flooding, reportedly washed away completely. Search, rescue and recovery operations remain underway in several affected locations.
Nepal Police Headquarters said 7,912 police personnel have been deployed to assist with rescue and relief operations. At least 65 police officers have themselves been affected by the disaster.
Of those listed as missing, 3,438 are Nepali nationals, comprising 2,863 men and 575 women. Another 650 missing people are foreign nationals, including 269 men and 332 women, while the gender of five people has not been determined.
Authorities have recovered 1,341 bodies so far. The remains include 523 men, 325 women and 493 sets of partial human remains.
Officials said 1,037 recovered bodies have been buried, while 98 have been handed over to their families. A large number of victims have yet to be identified, prompting authorities to intensify forensic procedures.
Medical teams have collected 2,472 DNA samples as part of the identification process. These include 1,286 samples taken from victims and 1,186 collected from relatives.
Rescue personnel have so far evacuated 9,151 injured people from affected areas. The rescued include 6,319 men, 2,778 women and 54 people whose details have not yet been specified.
Meanwhile, 3,098 displaced people are currently staying at temporary holding centres, according to the police. Security forces have also conducted 117 public awareness programmes involving more than 42,000 people living in communities surrounding the affected areas.
Scientists Examine Himalayan Glacier Collapse
As rescue and recovery efforts continue, scientists around the world are examining the possible causes behind the catastrophic high-altitude glacier collapse in the Himalayas that triggered the massive flash floods.
Researchers are also revisiting assessments published by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2020, which highlighted several glacial lakes in Nepal as posing significant risks.
The assessment identified Lumding Tsho and Hongu-2 in Solukhumbu, Lower Barun in Sankhuwasabha and Thulagi (Dona) in Manang among the lakes considered highly vulnerable to outburst events.
The report identified 47 glacial lakes across Nepal, Tibet and India as being at high risk of outburst. Twenty-one of these are located in Nepal, including eight that were newly identified at the time, while 13 had already been flagged in a 2011 assessment.
Nepal is home to more than 2,000 glacial lakes, highlighting the scale of the potential hazard. Two of these lakes have been drained so far, but experts warn that managing those classified as high-risk remains a major challenge.
Climate change is adding to the concern. Rising temperatures are causing glaciers to retreat, allowing some glacial lakes to expand and increasing the potential for sudden releases of enormous volumes of water.
Earthquakes and geological instability can further weaken already fragile mountain systems, raising the possibility of destructive glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).
The latest disaster has therefore renewed attention on the need for continuous monitoring of Himalayan glaciers and glacial lakes, early-warning systems and stronger disaster preparedness in vulnerable mountain communities.