Nepal-Tibet border flood death toll rises to 626 as officials warn of new flood risk from barrier lake
Nepal's foreign minister said on Saturday that at least 626 people have died after flash floods devastated the Nepal-Tibet border earlier this week, as authorities warned that a new barrier lake formed by landslides could unleash a second wave of flooding across the hard-hit region. According to the BBC, the country's foreign minister described the border area as having turned to "swampland" since the Wednesday disaster, complicating search and rescue operations for hundreds still missing.
By Source Reporters Newsdesk
Sat, 29 August 2026 · 1 min read
Nepal's foreign minister said on Saturday that at least 626 people have died after flash floods devastated the Nepal-Tibet border earlier this week, as authorities warned that a new barrier lake formed by landslides could unleash a second wave of flooding across the hard-hit region. According to the BBC, the country's foreign minister described the border area as having turned to "swampland" since the Wednesday disaster, complicating search and rescue operations for hundreds still missing.
The death toll, which stood at more than 390 on Thursday, has climbed sharply over 72 hours as rescuers reached cut-off villages in Nuwakot, Rasuwa and Sindhupalchowk districts, the BBC reported. Satellite imagery released by AP and analysed by the BBC shows entire settlements, bridges and a key Nepal-Tibet border crossing washed away by the floodwaters, with one journalist describing the landscape as resembling a post-tsunami zone.
Scientists have linked the disaster to a glacial avalanche and landslide in Tibet that sent a torrent of water and debris down the Bhote Koshi river basin on Wednesday, according to Al Jazeera. Authorities in Nepal and China are now monitoring a newly formed lake above the landslide site that threatens to burst, with the BBC reporting fears of a "second flood risk" that could affect downstream communities still recovering from the initial wave.
Chinese authorities have restricted footage of the disaster from circulating on domestic social media, the BBC reported, leaving little public information about the toll on the Tibetan side of the border. A 97-year-old Nepali woman, Guna Maya Bohara, was among those rescued using an excavator from the mud in Nuwakot district, according to BBC video, underscoring the scale of the search effort that has continued for a fifth day.
**Sources:** BBC
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