Nepal flash floods updates: Death toll rises to 939, missing people drops to 3,925: disaster authority

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A resident salvages belongings from his damaged home after flash flooding in the Devighat area of Nuwakot district in Nepal, on August 31, 2026. | Photo Credit: AP

D evastating floods near the border with China have killed at least 939 people in Nepal , while the number of missing in the country dropped to 3,925, its disaster authority said on Monday (August 31, 2026), as rescue efforts entered a sixth day.

Indian authorities are seeking to identify the bodies, and they are not included in the toll.

Chinese state media earlier confirmed 16 dead and 546 people missing in Tibet, taking the overall toll to 955 dead and 4,471 missing. Nepal’s list of the missing includes 592 foreigners. China dismissed claims linking its massive hydropower projects in Tibet to the August 26 flash flood disaster in Nepal, calling them “malicious speculation”.

Nepal’s Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai said in a press briefing on Sunday (August 30, 2026) that the mortal remains of victims who could not be identified, including those that were unrecognisable, amputated or decomposed due to prolonged exposure to water, had been buried following “standard and accepted protocols”.

Nepal has sought additional international support, including specialised equipment and technical assistance for tunnel rescue and forensic work, as rescue operations continued after the floods that have killed hundreds and left thousands missing.

During a press briefing in Kathmandu on Monday, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri said the country had sought essential non-food items and services such as freezers, DNA testing kits and LiDAR from the U.S., relief-specific items like DVI from Singapore, and belly bridges and high-capacity drones from China and Singapore.

So far, Nepal has received airtight bags for the management of bodies, while more are also being delivered.

A team of 18 forensic experts from India specialising in DNA analysis has been in Nepal since August 29.

Devastating floods near the border with China have killed at least 939 people in Nepal, while the number of missing in the country dropped to 3,925, its disaster authority said on Monday, as rescue efforts entered a sixth day.

Chinese state media earlier confirmed 16 dead and 546 people missing in Tibet, taking the overall toll to 955 dead and 4,471 missing.

But the number of missing workers on hydropower projects -- which took the full force of the torrent -- dropped to 639 on Monday from an earlier count of 933.

China on Monday (August 31, 2026) dismissed claims linking its massive hydropower projects in Tibet to the August 26 flash flood disaster in Nepal, calling them “malicious speculation”.