The footage is horrifying. Some of these people had no chance. The hellacious mix of mud and water barreling down has wiped out whole swaths of the country. Between 300 and 1,000 people are missing — at least — another 160 are dead. A piece of a glacier, estimated to be about half a mile long, supposedly broke off, triggering this disaster (via NYT):
Video shows severe flooding in Nepal, where local authorities say more than 1,000 people are missing. pic.twitter.com/qZH2KWvcVp
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 26, 2026
BREAKING: At least 380 people missing after flash flood hits near Nepal-Tibet border pic.twitter.com/iCRpXJaBAe
— BNO News Live (@BNODesk) August 26, 2026
🇳🇵 A horrific flash flood carrying mud, rocks, and water swept away a village in Nepal in a matter of seconds pic.twitter.com/tLgLkYLGCY
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 26, 2026
Hit the selfie in the face of apocalyptic destruction pic.twitter.com/M7tJ7m8raY
— Justin🦩Boldaji (@justinboldaji) August 26, 2026
A giant torrent of mud, water and ice that began high in the Himalayas tore a devastating path through a mountain valley on the border between Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday, smashing buildings and sweeping away fleeing people caught by surprise by its speed and destructive force.
At least 160 people were killed and hundreds more were missing after the flood, which snapped bridges into pieces and pulled multistory structures off their foundations. The deluge also engulfed dozens of men, women and children who were overtaken as they tried to run. The death toll was expected to rise.
Initial assessments by geologists and glaciologists indicated that an enormous chunk of ice — possibly a half-mile wide — had snapped off a glacier at an altitude of 17,000 feet and tumbled thousands of feet into a river valley below. Scientists studying the disaster said the impact registered as the equivalent of a 5.2-magnitude earthquake and crushed the ice into a fast-moving mix of water, ice and rock that pulverized everything in its path.
Officials in Nepal reported 157 deaths. Chinese officials reported only three deaths in the Tibet region of China, but the Chinese state news agency Xinhua said there had been “significant” casualties at the Gyirong port of entry, at the border with Nepal.
Surveillance footage circulating on social media and verified by The New York Times shows crowds running up a road near the port before torrents of water and thick clouds engulf the parking lot and surrounding buildings, destroying the area.
“The bottom looks like a bomb exploded — it’s just deposits from the broken-up glacier,” said Daniel Shugar, a geologist at the University of Calgary in Canada who studied satellite imagery to analyze what happened. He said other factors may have also contributed to the landslide.
As many as 391 tourists, including 291 foreigners, had been reported missing in Nepal, the country’s tourism board said in a statement. They included more than 100 people on a pilgrimage from India, a dozen Britons and at least three Americans. Citizens from Australia, the Netherlands, Malaysia and South Africa were also among the missing.
Thousands of people live in riverside settlements downstream from the flooding, including along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers in the Rasuwa district. The authorities have not estimated the number of people missing and the extent of damage but said that bridges, schools and hydropower projects had been swept away.
These people never had a chance.
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