Nepal Flood Toll Climbs; Americans Among Missing
Nepal Flood Toll Climbs; Americans Among Missing
The News
A wall of water, mud and rock came down the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday, and the death toll has been climbing all day. Reuters reported Wednesday evening that police put the number killed in Nepal and Tibet at 157. Earlier Associated Press counts, carried by PennLive and Cleveland.com, had it at 98 with hundreds missing. The Times of Israel reported at least 95 dead. The Frank published an early report at eight dead Wednesday morning — Flash Flood Kills Eight in Nepal; China Evacuates — and the count has moved several times since.
The American question
Nepal's Tourism Board said in a statement posted to X that its "preliminary" list of 384 missing people includes at least three American tourists, ABC News reported. Sinclair stations reported that the three were traveling with Fishtail Tours and Travel, which confirmed them missing, and that the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu said it is working to account for affected Americans.
What happened
The flood hit Wednesday after what officials described as a sudden surge in the Bhote Koshi River, hitting Nepal's Rasuwa district and neighboring Nuwakot and Dhading, Sinclair stations reported, damaging homes, roads, bridges, power infrastructure and hydropower facilities. Nepal Police said 114 people had been rescued in the Bhotekoshi River area.
What's Next
The Sun published satellite images showing villages that were there Tuesday and gone Wednesday. Rescue work is continuing, and the casualty count is not final.
More
A caution on the number. The New York Post and the Washington Examiner reported that 47 Americans are missing. That figure does not appear in the tourism board's breakdown as reported by ABC News, and The Frank could not source it to Nepali authorities or to the State Department. Until an official count is issued, three is the number that traces to a named source.
The tourism board's list of 384 missing travelers includes 291 foreign nationals, among them 105 Indians, according to The Hindu. The Times of Israel put the missing tourist figure at 484, including an Israeli. The Independent reported 33 Britons missing.
The cause is not settled. Reuters reported that experts believe a glacier collapse may have triggered the flood. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 4.4 earthquake early Wednesday, according to AP, and Fox News reported that video from Gyirong, in Tibet, shows mudslides engulfing buildings minutes after that quake. Whether the earthquake, an ice-and-rock avalanche, or both set it off has not been confirmed.
Bibek Kumal, a Nepali laborer, was digging a toilet pit outside a newly built house when the water arrived, he told Reuters. He survived by clinging to a tree. "I would have washed away to death," he said.
UMass Dartmouth Running Back, 18, Stabbed to Death
Trump Vows 'AI Force,' Czar; Polls Name Change
Sep 20, 2026
Iran Sends Trump Three Conditions to End War
Sep 19, 2026
Faulty AI Intel Nearly Started War With China
Sep 19, 2026
German General Breuer Elected NATO's Top Officer
Sep 19, 2026
Nobel Laureate: War, Sanctions Crushing Iranians
Sep 19, 2026
Dutch Police Disperse Violent Far-Right Hague Protest
Sep 19, 2026
GOP Midterm Odds Fade With 45 Days Left
Sep 19, 2026
Maher Rejects Tarlov's Claim Democrats Are Less Crazy
Sep 19, 2026
Patrick Clancy Breaks Silence After Ex-Wife Killed Kids
Sep 19, 2026
Trump Cuts Park Staff, Diverts Fees to DC
Sep 19, 2026
Holocaust Heirs Sue LA Museums Over Looted Art
Sep 19, 2026
Trump's Fed Chair Hikes Rates, Defying White House
Sep 19, 2026
Miller Drives Push to Deport Illegal Immigrant Children
Sep 19, 2026
US Lifts Sanctions on Eritrea's Military, Ruling Party
Sep 19, 2026
Air Force Admits US Has Space Weapons
Sep 19, 2026
Turkey Revokes License of Iran's Mellat Bank
Sep 19, 2026
Billionaire Ratcliffe Blasts Britain Over Immigration, Taxes
Sep 19, 2026
Navajo Nation Flash Flood Kills Three
Sep 19, 2026
Explosions Over Riyadh Trigger Saudi Air Alerts
Sep 19, 2026
Sep 19, 2026