As devastating flash floods swept through parts of Nepal, triggered by torrential rains and a surge in the Bhote Koshi River, Nepali residents and workers in Delhi spent Wednesday anxiously trying to reach family and friends back home, with reports of deaths and hundreds missing causing widespread worry.
Rescue teams led by the Nepal army continue search operations to locate survivors from the August 26 disaster. 4,873 people remain missing.
'We desperately want India to send the army as the evacuation process needs to be escalated immediately.'
A devastating flood in Baireni, Nepal, transformed a school playground into a sea of sand and buried classrooms under sludge. Timely warnings from teachers, prompted by an upstream guardian, allowed 400 students to evacuate safely just before the flood hit. The school remains closed, covered in debris, while UNICEF estimates 17,000 children need humanitarian aid following the floods that killed over 900 people.
Flash floods in Nepal, triggered by an ice and rock collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border, have devastated hydropower projects, leaving hundreds of workers stranded. Survivors recount terrifying escapes from rising floodwaters and tunnels, while international teams assist in ongoing rescue operations to locate those still missing.
The water rose from knee level to chest height within minutes before climbing even higher. Homes crumbled, cattle sheds collapsed and everything that could be carried away by the current vanished.
In flood-ravaged Nepal, drones are playing an unprecedented role in disaster response, from airlifting bodies from inaccessible areas to delivering essential supplies and searching for trapped workers. This innovative use of UAVs is transforming humanitarian aid and rescue operations in the challenging Himalayan terrain.
With the death toll crossing 900 and nearly 4,000 people still missing, the trauma of loss, displacement and uncertainty is settling in among thousands of survivors, prompting the government to step up its mental health response.
Sanjay Sah, a 30-year-old employee, was rescued from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project in Nepal after nine days. He attributed his survival to chanting 'Hare Krishna' and was miraculously rescued on Krishna Janmashtami. Another worker, Kabir Maharjan, was also rescued but required further medical treatment. Sah, a foreman, stayed behind to ensure others' safety during the initial disaster.
Cloudburst-triggered landslide devastates Thathri town in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, damaging homes and shops, but no lives are lost.
'The trigger for the flood was definitely natural, but the damage that it caused was human-made.'
Himachal Pradesh is on high alert with schools and colleges shut in several districts as heavy rainfall triggers landslides, flash floods, and road closures, prompting authorities to issue warnings and activate emergency centres.
The pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath via north Kashmir Baltel route was halted on Thursday evening after flash floods washed away a major portion of a bridge in Ganderbal district.
A group of 21 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu faced a terrifying ordeal during a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash when flash floods and mudslides struck Timure, Nepal. Despite being trapped in a raging torrent, a combination of miraculous coincidences, quick thinking, and the selfless heroism of a couple, Ratnakumar and Poonguzhali, ensured their survival. Indian and Tamil Nadu officials coordinated a swift rescue operation, bringing them safely back home.
Devastating Bhote Koshi floods in Nepal have led to a surge in recovered bodies, overwhelming morgues across several districts. Authorities are setting up temporary facilities and preparing for the management of unidentified remains as identification efforts continue.
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, better known as P S Golay, on Friday said that the Himalayan state has incurred damages worth thousands of crores of rupees in the flash flood.
The NRSC satellite imagery revealed that the lake covered approximately 162.7 hectares. Its area increased to 167.4 hectares on September 28 but drastically reduced to 60.3 hectares.
Heavy rain triggered flash floods in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, killing three people and prompting the rescue of over 100 others. The floods also caused landslides and mudslides, disrupting traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. Rescue operations are ongoing, and the situation is being monitored by authorities.
Olympian and World Cup gold medallist archer Jayanta Talukdar and his one-month-old twin babies were rescued from their flood-hit apartment in Guwahati's Rukmininagar on Friday.
A flash flood triggered by incessant rains for the past several days has affected thousands of people, inundated several villages and washed away 40 houses in Jiribam subdivision in Manipur's Imphal East district.
India has provided 68.5 tonnes of relief materials to flood-hit Nepal and sent technical teams, forensic experts and equipment to assist in search and rescue operations, the Indian embassy said.
Large tracts of land in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district was washed away in flash floods which occurred due to a cloudburst even as several parts of the state received moderate to heavy rainfall on Friday.
India's UPI International payment system is now playing a crucial role in humanitarian efforts, enabling seamless disaster relief donations from Indian users to Nepal's Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund, showcasing its growing global acceptance and utility beyond tourism. UPI IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: Unsplash Key Points UPI International, initially for Indian tourists, is now facilitating disaster relief donations to Nepal's Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund. The embassy of Nepal in India is actively encouraging Indian users to utilise their UPI apps for these contributions. This marks a significant shift, expanding UPI's cross-border use case beyond tourism to include inbound collection for foreign governments. The move positions UPI International alongside global payment giants like Alipay+ and UnionPay for international aid. Donors need to activate the UPI International feature on their apps to transact, with amounts converted from INR to NPR.
'When a glacier collapse or a major flood event does occur, the water will simply reclaim its original path, and anything built in that path will be swept away.'
The flash floods in Nepal's Nuwakot district have left a trail of destruction, damaging homes, roads and infrastructure and disrupting lives.
The Sikkim Government has confirmed that 14 people have died so far in the flash floods that occurred in Sikkim in the early hours of Wednesday.
The maximum damage has been reported from Mandi, Kangra and Chamba districts, he said, adding that so far 36 weather-related incidents have been reported from the state.
Sikkim has identified 40 high-hazard glacial lakes, with 16 at the highest risk of catastrophic outbursts. Following a devastating GLOF in 2023, the state is developing India's first dedicated GLOF Risk Mitigation Protocol, using advanced monitoring and interdisciplinary approaches to protect downstream settlements and serve as a model for other Himalayan regions.
About 40 houses have been damaged in the flash floods in Pullorampara where the heavy downpour also triggered four landslips resulting in road blocks.
Of the 22 people rescued, 15 were trapped in Kathua and seven in Jammu district.
At least eight people drowned and several others went missing after they were swept away in the Mal river due to flash floods during idol immersion on Vijayadashami Jalpaiguri, a senior official said.
Four vehicles, carrying members of a marriage party, were trapped in the flash flood due to heavy rains at Haripur Khol village in Paonta Sahib, said Deputy Commissioner Sirmaur, PS Chauhan.
Torrential rains have caused widespread devastation across several Indian states, leading to at least 11 deaths in Assam and Uttarakhand, pushing rivers above danger levels, and disrupting daily life with landslides, floods, and school closures. States like Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, and Jammu & Kashmir are also grappling with the monsoon fury, while Meghalaya faces an unusual rainfall deficit.
'The valley is around 16 km from the Nepal border, and it took just 8-10 minutes for the ice and rocks to reach the Nepal border. You can imagine how fast it must have travelled!'
A villager was washed away in flash floods while 19 others were rescued from the swirling waters in Jammu and Poonch districts early on Friday morning.
As heavy rains lashed Jammu region, authorities today sounded an alert about the possibility of flash floods and evacuated people living near swollen rivers.
Flash floods triggered by a cloudburst in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, resulted in casualties and widespread damage, prompting rescue operations and relief efforts.
Mini cloud bursts are marked by intense short spells which may not exceed 10cm in one hour-a classical definition by India Meteorological Department, he noted.
The rising water level in the Narayani-Gandak river following heavy rainfall in Nepal has increased the flood threat in villages along the river in Maharajganj district, officials said on Sunday.
