Authorities in Nepal said on Wednesday that hopes of locating additional survivors among the thousands still missing after a glacier collapse in the Himalayas are diminishing, seven days after the flash floods tore through mountain valleys near the Chinese border.
Officials report that at least 1,050 people have died and that nearly 4,000 remain unaccounted for. A United Nations spokesperson later said aid agencies estimated about 3,900 people were still missing. Across the border in Tibet, China’s official figures have remained unchanged since Sunday: 16 dead and 546 missing.
"The hope of finding survivors is decreasing," Phanindra Paudel, a senior official at the government’s National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC), said. "We pray and are hopeful. Hope is hope!"
Search operations and hydropower concerns
Rescue teams are concentrating efforts on several hydropower projects where workers are believed to be trapped. Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet said rescuers are attempting to reach people thought to be inside tunnels and service spaces within powerhouses - areas that can contain rooms where workers may shelter.
Authorities reported that 279 people had been brought out from the ruins of hydropower facilities, while at least 639 more people connected to those projects remain missing, some presumed trapped inside tunnels.
Shift toward rehabilitation and reconstruction
Retired senior army general Binoj Basnet, who managed search and rescue work during Nepal’s 2015 earthquake, warned that given the scale and nature of the flooding and the terrain affected, the likelihood of finding survivors declines as days pass.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah said the government would move its emphasis from immediate search and rescue to rehabilitation and reconstruction. In a late-night social media post on Tuesday, Shah said the government is concentrating on rebuilding while also working to protect lives in affected areas and to provide medical treatment and psychological counselling.
Scale of destruction and clean-up challenges
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided a preliminary estimate that the disaster produced about 2.2 million tons of debris - composed of building parts, rocks and sediment - which the agency said is roughly equivalent to the volume of six Empire State buildings. The UNDP said the debris total underscores the magnitude of destruction and the challenge communities face in clearing homes, roads and public spaces to begin rebuilding.
Public health and displacement
U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said aid agencies were "very concerned" about an escalating public health risk linked to overcrowded shelters, contaminated water and damaged health facilities, particularly for women and children during the monsoon season. He reported that nearly 3,500 people are living in 27 displacement sites across the hardest-hit districts of Nuwakot and Rasuwa.
Prime Minister Shah said his government has increased surveillance and response measures aimed at preventing disease outbreaks in flood-affected areas.
Questions about causes and future risk
A senior U.N. official cautioned that the Himalayan region faces significant risks from future glacial floods. Prime Minister Shah called for international engagement to determine why the ice and rock collapsed and how such a large volume of water was generated, saying those questions must be answered by the global community. Chinese authorities have also linked the flood to climate change.
For now, Nepal’s response is balancing dwindling prospects of rescue with urgent needs for rehabilitation, debris removal and public health protections as communities begin to recover.