The latest confirmed death toll surged above 900, with unidentified bodies buried in mass graves after DNA sampling.
The huge wave of freezing water, rocks and debris that smashed into villages and towns on Wednesday killed at least 939 people in Nepal and in Tibet, in China, with at least 17 bodies also pulled from rivers downstream in India.
Nepali Prime Minster Balendra Shah in a statement on Sunday called the disaster "unimaginable and heartbreaking".
Rescue teams are in a race against time in treacherous conditions to free around 100 hydropower workers believed trapped in multiple tunnels -- digging, drilling and blasting through debris.
So far, three dead bodies have been pulled out of two tunnels, and the teams have found routes blocked with mud.
An Indian army officer deployed as part of a specialised tunnel rescue team said rescuers were digging through "sludge". He told AFP he was "still hopeful" there were survivors inside.
Amid the horror, there has been some hope; a six-year-old pulled out of the mud on Friday was reunited with her parents after police found her crying for her mother.
"Her body was trapped in mud, but her head was outside," Nepali Armed Police spokesman Netra Bahadur Karki told AFP.
"She is out of danger and recovering at a hospital and has reunited with her family."
- 'Changing climate' -
The disaster was sparked by a glacial collapse, the US Geological Survey said.
While the exact cause of that collapse is unclear, climate change is causing glaciers to melt worldwide, raising the risk of such disasters.
Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said: "The people of Nepal are one of the major victims of the changing climate and its impact."
Scientists say the Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range, are melting faster as global temperatures rise.
Aid needs are enormous. Entire communities have been swept away, leaving families homeless in heavy rain or sheltering in temporary facilities.
"This is an unfolding disaster," UN children's fund official Abiodun Banire told AFP, saying the needs of the tens of thousands impacted were vast.
Roads have been washed away, power plants destroyed and dozens of bridges smashed.
"There are too many challenges," said E. Hawadi, a police officer coordinating rescue efforts in the badly-affected Nuwakot district.
"There are no roads, they have all been washed away, and many areas are just not accessible," he told AFP on Monday.
- Overflowing mortuaries -
With mortuaries overflowing with the dead, Nepal has begun burying some of the hundreds of bodies recovered after taking DNA samples so families can later retrieve them.
Kathmandu has appealed for international support, saying Nepal needed "more than a thousand" freezer units to store bodies.
Distraught families, desperate for news of missing relatives, are watching images of bodies on screens at community centres in a bid to identify the dead.
Shobha Adhikary, in the southern Nepali city of Bharatpur, told a local coordinator she believed one image showed her childhood best friend.
"It looks like him, for sure," she said, showing a photograph of a smiling, middle-aged man.
Among Nepal's list of the missing are 592 foreigners, including tourists who had come for trekking in its mountains, as well as Hindu pilgrims seeking spiritual peace at Tibet's sacred Mount Kailash.
- 'Billions of dollars' -
In China, Tibet is largely inaccessible to foreign journalists, and Chinese authorities are the only source of information.
More than 2,000 personnel are part of rescue operations there, but they have faced intense challenges, and are slowly advancing towards the epicentre of the disaster.
China has said 16 people died in Tibet, with 546 people missing.
Tibetan advocacy groups in exile have questioned China's account of the disaster.
Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, called for China to disclose "complete and verifiable information about the damage and casualties".
Beijing's foreign ministry said on Monday that the "release of information has been open, transparent and timely", and rejected international reports it is underreporting deaths.
In Nepal, the disaster agency recorded the total number of people missing on its side of the border at 3,925 -- revising an earlier number -- with 939 bodies recovered.
Nepal's economy is already under pressure, and foreign governments have pledged millions of dollars in humanitarian aid.
Kathmandu warns that the reconstruction bill could run into "billions of dollars".
The missing in Nepal-Tibet flash floods
Kathmandu, Nepal (AFP) Aug 31, 2026 -
At least 4,471 people were listed as missing on Monday, with a further 955 confirmed dead, after the flash floods and landslides that hit the Nepal-Tibet border.
The figures are likely to change, which is not uncommon in the chaos after a major disaster.
Here are the latest numbers:
- In total: 4,471 missing -
Nepal's disaster agency reduced the total number of people missing on its side of the border to 3,925 on Monday, saying there were also 939 confirmed deaths.
The number of missing in Tibet is 546, with 16 others dead, China's state broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday.
Together, the total missing stands at 4,471 and the total dead at 955.
Nepal's disaster agency said Monday that 592 foreigners were unaccounted for, without listing them by nationality.
Chinese officials said on Sunday at least 261 foreign nationals were among those unaccounted for there.
In India, authorities said they had recovered 17 bodies from rivers flowing from Nepal, believed to be flood victims.
However, they are not included in the toll at this time.
- Nepal -
Among the missing are 639 people working on hydropower projects, 45 Nepali Army soldiers, 38 police officers and 18 customs and immigration officers.
At least 1,158 people are unaccounted for in the hard-hit district of Nuwakot.
China's CCTV said on Sunday that 104 Nepali nationals were missing in Tibet.
- China -
China's foreign ministry said on Thursday that nearly 100 Chinese nationals were among the missing in Nepal.
The Nepal Tourism Board said eight Chinese were unaccounted for but that 16 had been rescued.
- India -
India's foreign ministry said on Saturday that 275 citizens were missing, and an additional 128 persons of Indian origin.
Chinese state media said Sunday that 49 Indian nationals were missing in Tibet.
- United States -
About 85 US citizens were missing, the State Department said on Sunday, adding that nine had been rescued. It said it was not aware of any US fatalities.
The Nepal Tourism Board put the figure at 65 missing on Friday, and two rescued.
Eighteen US citizens were still missing in Tibet, Chinese state media said on Sunday.
- Ukraine -
The Nepal Tourism Board put the number of Ukrainians still missing on Friday at 61.
Ukraine's embassy in Nepal said on Friday it was aware of 62 of its citizens with whom contact had been lost, revising its earlier numbers upwards by six.
Chinese state media said one Ukrainian was missing in Tibet.
- Malaysia -
The Nepal Tourism Board put the number missing at 51.
Chinese state media said three Malaysians were missing in Tibet.
- Australia -
The number of Australians missing stood at 42 on Sunday.
- United Kingdom -
Thirty-three people from the United Kingdom were missing, the Nepal Tourism Board figures showed on Friday.
In Tibet, 15 people from the United Kingdom were missing, Chinese state media said.
- Latvia -
Twenty-nine Latvians were missing, the Nepal Tourism Board said on Friday.
Chinese state media said 33 Latvians were missing in Tibet.
- Canada -
The Nepal Tourism Board said 25 Canadians were among the missing on Friday. Canada's foreign ministry put the figure at 30 in both Nepal and Tibet.
Chinese state media said six Canadians were missing in Tibet.
- South Korea -
The Nepal Tourism Board said Friday that nine South Korean tourists were missing.
South Korea's foreign ministry said Wednesday they had had no news of nine hydropower workers.
- Singapore -
Nine Singaporeans were unaccounted for, the Nepal Tourism Board said.
- Germany -
Eight German citizens are missing, according to the Nepal Tourism Board.
Chinese state media said three Germans were missing in Tibet.
- Russia -
Nine Russians are unaccounted for, while two have been rescued, the Nepal Tourism Board said on Friday.
Three Russians were missing in Tibet, Chinese state media said Sunday.
- Other nationalities -
South Africa: six (Nepal Tourism Board). Four missing in Tibet. (CCTV)
Japan: five (Nepal Tourism Board)
New Zealand: five (foreign ministry and Nepal Tourism Board). Two missing in Tibet. (CCTV)
France: four (Nepal Tourism Board). Two missing in Tibet. (CCTV)
Spain: three (Spanish foreign ministry). One missing in Tibet. (CCTV)
Belgium: two, and one person rescued (Nepal Tourism Board)
Hungary: three (Hungarian foreign ministry). The Nepal Tourism Board put the figure at one. One missing in Tibet (CCTV)
Portugal: three, with two found safe (Portuguese government). The Nepal Tourism Board said only one Portuguese citizen was missing. One missing in Tibet (CCTV)
Netherlands: two (Nepal Tourism Board). Two missing in Tibet (CCTV)
Italy: three missing (Italian foreign ministry). The Nepal Tourism Board said Friday one was missing, with two rescued
Ireland: two (Nepal Tourism Board). Two missing in Tibet (CCTV)
Kazakhstan: three (Nepal Tourism Board). One missing in Tibet (CCTV)
Belarus: one (Nepal Tourism Board)
Finland: one (Nepal Tourism Board). One missing in Tibet (CCTV)
Israel: one (Nepal Tourism Board)
Lithuania: one (Nepal Tourism Board). One missing in Tibet (CCTV)
Philippines: one (Nepal Tourism Board)
Serbia: one (Nepal Tourism Board)
Switzerland: one, with one person rescued (Nepal Tourism Board)
Sweden: one (Swedish foreign ministry and Nepal Tourism Board)
Vietnam: one (Nepal Tourism Board)
Estonia: Two missing in Tibet (CCTV)
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