Nepal must rebuild thousands of homes, no letup in search for missing

Nepal must rebuild thousands of homes, no letup in search for missing.

Key points

• ReutersNews Desk Published September 3, 2026 Updated September 3, 2026 07: 00pm.
• As a day of national mourning in Nepal, the cabinet spokesperson remarked, prime Minister Balendra Shah's cabinet set September 7, the 13th day after the disaster.
• Even houses still standing were not habitable, Upreti remarked, with authorities estimating that around 20, 000 would have to be rebuilt in different, safer locations.
• China has put the death toll in Tibet at 21, with 541 others listed as missing.
• We are considering if children can be taught in the holding centres, remarked Phanindra Paudel, an official at Nepal's National Emergency Operation Centre.

ReutersNews Desk Published September 3, 2026 Updated September 3, 2026 07: 00pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

As rescuers continued to search for workers trapped in tunnels linked to hydropower projects and thousands remain missing after last week's catastrophe, nepal will have to rebuild around 20, 000 houses in flood-ravaged areas, authorities remarked on Thursday.

For context, a glacier collapse on August 26 sent a deluge of ice, rock and mud sweeping through the impoverished nation's border region with China, wiping out settlements and villages and leaving few houses standing and undamaged.

"Our preliminary estimates are that 7, 500 houses have been completely destroyed, either washed away or buried under debris and mud, " Dharma Raj Upreti, chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, informed Reuters.

"We anticipate that the resources required for rebuilding will be substantial, " Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal informed foreign ambassadors in Kathmandu.

At least 1, 252 individuals were killed in Nepal last week as houses, streets and schools in towns and villages near the border with China's Tibet were swept away. More than 4, 200 individuals are still missing and thousands more displaced.

As a day of national mourning in Nepal, the cabinet spokesperson remarked, prime Minister Balendra Shah's cabinet set September 7, the 13th day after the disaster. In Hindu tradition, the 13th day traditionally marks the end of the formal mourning period. Search for missing continues.

More than 9, 300 Nepali army troops were on the ground in the affected areas of Timure in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan and Nawalparasi East, coordinating search and rescue of the injured and helping with management of bodies, clearing blocked roads, and providing emergency medical treatment, an army statement remarked.

For context, an Australian medical student whose partner went missing near the Nepal-China border pressed tech businesses to do more to support find him and others caught up in the disaster by sharing tracking data that could narrow the search areas for rescue teams.

At least 583 foreign nationals were missing in the floods, Nepal remarked on Thursday, numerous of them pilgrims and trekkers.

For context, an army officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media, remarked the search was continuing with experts from India, South Korea and China for at least 900 survivors believed to be trapped in the tunnels related to hydropower projects.

Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet remarked two bodies had been recovered from the tunnel of Langtang Khola hydropower plant.

Australia pledged extra backing and noted it would additionally share telecommunications data with Nepali authorities.

China has sent a third batch of aid to Nepal, including tents, blankets, medical protective suits and satellite communication equipment, the foreign ministry remarked, adding that the weather offices of the two countries were in contact with each other.

Reports on the rescue efforts in Tibet, largely provided by Chinese state media, have slowed a day after the G216 national highway leading to the site was reopened.

Both China and Nepal have remarked the floods were a result of climate change, with foreign minister Khanal telling ambassadors that the disaster had a "deeper significance" beyond the immediate emergency.

"Nepal contributes a negligible share of global emissions, yet our people bear a disproportionate burden of the impacts of a warming Himalayas, " he remarked. Getting children back to school.

Authorities were working to restore regular routines as much as feasible, with a focus on getting children into makeshift schools.

More than a week after the flood, at least 22, 000 children urgently need safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene backing, UNICEF stated in an official note.

"Our priority is to restore normal life. We are considering if children can be taught in the holding centres, " remarked Phanindra Paudel, an official at Nepal's National Emergency Operation Centre.

Finding safe buildings in which to hold classes was a challenge, teachers remarked.

"We are looking for safe, empty buildings or other schools where we can resume classes. The school building was completely washed away, so we will have to build a new one in a safer location, " remarked Rajendra Dawadi, headmaster of a school. This person assisted save regarding 900 students by evacuating them in time.

Shanti Sunar, 45, escaped the disaster with her husband but lost her house and a small shop she ran.

"I have been visiting the site almost every day. I can recognise where our house stood, but there is no trace of it now. We cannot rebuild at the same location since it is not safe. I expect the administration to relocate us to a safer place." PM Shehbaz assures Nepal ambassador of continued relief assistance.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assured Nepal's Ambassador to Pakistan Rita Dhital of Pakistan's continued backing in a visit to the Nepalese Embassy in Islamabad, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) stated.

"In his message, the Prime Minister conveyed Pakistan's deepest sympathies to the government and people of Nepal, and to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in the tragedy, " the PMO remarked.

PMO continued that the premier informed the ambassador that Pakistan would be dispatching emergency relief assistance to Nepal afterwards in the week.

"He offered continued support to Nepal and hoped that the resilient people of Nepal would emerge stronger from this tragedy, " the statement continued.

For now, nepal must rebuild thousands of homes, no letup in search for missing remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.