Climate Change Triggers Disastrous Flooding, Mass Casualties and Displacement in Nepal
- Human Rights Research Center
- 6 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Author: Srijita Mukherjee
September 08, 2026
HRRC echoes the call of Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah for the international community to acknowledge and address the role of climate change in driving disasters that threaten human safety across Nepal. Furthermore, we endorse the urgent warnings issued by United Nations agencies regarding extreme population displacement, severe shelter overcrowding, and damaged sanitation systems that amplified the risk of disease. HRRC stresses access to clean water, healthcare, food and educational access for the thousands of displaced children is critical. We urge international donors to deliver aid and support long-term climate justice for those affected areas in Nepal and beyond.
![Mudslide at Gyirong Port [Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f05ed1_b8f01eb10a464e14951f97034884b89e~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_960,h_485,al_c,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/f05ed1_b8f01eb10a464e14951f97034884b89e~mv2.png)
On August 26th, Nepal encountered a flash flood of water, mud and debris that swept away entire communities, resulting in many deaths and leaving hundreds still missing. Many roads and bridges collapsed, and hydropower, water and telecommunication networks were destroyed with health facilities toppled by mud.
The Nepali Army rescued hundreds of people from flood-affected areas using helicopters. Rescue teams searching downstream from the disaster zone found many bodies, and dozens of survivors were transported to Kathmandu for medical care. Reports revealed that houses and vehicles in these affected areas were submerged or buried in mudslides, making it extremely challenging to search for missing people. The volume, power and speed of the flood surge gave people remarkably little time to even escape the incident.
According to The Guardian, early reports from the Nepali officials indicated that an earthquake might have caused the lower part of the glacier to collapse and trigger the floods along Nepal’s Himalayan border with Tibet. However, the US Geological Survey later stated that what was initially reported as an earthquake was actually a seismic shock generated by the collapsing rock and ice and the flow of debris, meaning an earthquake had never occurred in the first place.
Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah stated that this was no ordinary flood but one triggered by an avalanche of ice and rock in the Himalayas caused by climate change. He emphasised the need to raise this issue with the international community to address the role global warming played in a disaster that killed thousands of people. According to Srijana Gurung of Plan International, the impact of these flash floods will last much longer than a few weeks or months.
Regarding the hydropower projects, The Guardian reported that around 500 missing hydropower workers remained trapped inside diversion tunnels damaged by flooding in districts such as Rasuwa and Nuwakot. Rescue operations continue, and authorities fear a lessening chance of finding survivors inside the tunnels due to significantly low oxygen levels.
With more than 40 bridges destroyed, emergency teams rely heavily on helicopters to access isolated areas, highlighting the extreme severity and risk involved in reaching survivors. The damage to hydropower infrastructure is estimated to have taken approximately 700 megawatts out of service, representing 10% of the country's power capacity. Rescuers have faced severe difficulties excavating deep mud with heavy earth-moving equipment to reach the trapped workers.
Planned rescues have been complicated by overnight rain and rising river waters that flooded evacuation areas before conditions could ease. The Nepali Army stated that teams resumed efforts to locate tunnel entrances using drilling machines, excavators, hydraulic cutters and other heavy equipment, highlighting the huge amount of resources required to dig into the tunnels. Nitesh Khadka, a physical geographer in Nepal who studies glacial floods, informed Al Jazeera that the rescue operations face ongoing threats from two large barrier lakes that formed during the first flooding. Additionally, one barrier lake began overflowing leading to another flood hazard that delayed rescue operations. There was a possible risk of a sudden flood surge rushing downstream which could slam into a power station, flood the tunnels and trap or injure anyone inside.
On August 31st, in Kathmandu, children crammed into public shelters faced an increased risk of illness due to a lack of clean water for drinking and washing after the flash flood. Piled body bags began releasing a strong smell of decomposition, while decaying human and animal remains, unmanaged waste and stagnant water increased the risk of spreading diseases like diarrhea and skin infections.
Continuous rain washed mud into areas, forcing families to escape their ruined homes, with many children living in community buildings on higher ground. The disaster has left over 900 people dead in Nepal and more than 4,000 still missing. Additionally, shelters and holding centres have little medicine to treat children who arrive with coughs and other illnesses, with conditions worse in cut-off rural areas. Consequently, the organisation Save the Children has called on governments, donors and humanitarian partners to increase funding for emergency responses to ensure families receive aid.
Nepali volunteer Rosnee Bhattarai explained that around 200 people were sleeping on the school floor, including traumatised children with missing parents. She noted shortages of nappies and sanitary products. Authorities proceeded to retrieve survivors and bodies. While many victims remain unidentified, a small number of bodies have been returned to the families for outdoor funerals.
Lila Pieters Yahia, the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal, stated that she witnessed people being rescued as she visited the severely damaged site, noting that seeing a truckload of rescued survivors was an emotional sight. The United Nations has been supporting relief efforts by providing emergency food rations and medical kits for up to 10,000 people for three months, alongside setting up tents, offering support and providing satellite imagery and analysis of the flood-affected areas. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization warned that displacement, overcrowding and the disruption of water, sanitation and health services significantly increase the risk of infectious disease.
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) spokesperson Ricardo Pires added that 18 schools have been completely destroyed and another 20 have been damaged, leaving dozens located near riverbanks at high risk and an estimated 10,000 school age children in need of support to continue their education.
Kamal Kishore, the Head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, highlighted the severity of the disaster, noting that the region has not encountered a mountain hazard of this level in a very long time. Therefore, he stated that the impact on lives, livelihoods, infrastructure and power generation has caused massive damage and ongoing destruction, marking an extremely high level of risk and uncertainty for emergency response efforts as the crisis continues.
Glossary
Avalanche: a large mass of snow, ice, earth, rock, or other material in swift motion down a mountainside or over a precipice.
Barrier Lake: A lake formed when a river is dammed by a landslide
Climate Change: significant and long-lasting change in the earth's climate and weather patterns.
Debris: the remains of something broken down or destroyed
Displace: to expel or force to flee from home or homeland
Diversion : the act or an instance of diverting or straying from a course, activity, or use.
Excavate: to form a cavity or hole in
Flood: a rising and overflowing of a body of water especially onto normally dry land.
Glacier : a large body of ice moving slowly down a slope or valley or spreading outward on a land surface.
Geographer: a specialist in geography.
Hydraulic: operated, moved, or effected by means of water.
Hydropower: hydroelectric power.
Nappy: a diaper.
Overcrowd: to cause to be too crowded.
Ration: A portion of some limited resource, especially food, allocated to a person, group or period.
Sanitary: characterized by or readily kept in cleanliness.
Seismic: relating to an earth vibration caused by something else.
Stagnant: not flowing in a current or stream.
Submerged : covered with water.
Surge : to rise and move in waves or billows.
References
