Nepal Floods: 1,344 Dead, Nearly 5,000 Missing; Police Warn Against Looting

Nepal’s deadly floods have left a trail of destruction across several districts, with 1,344 people reported dead and nearly 5,000 still missing, as rescue teams continue searching for victims and authorities struggle to identify hundreds of recovered bodies.

Amid the massive relief and recovery operation, Nepal Police have warned people against keeping, selling or distributing gold, silver, cash, valuables and important documents recovered from floodwaters, saying those who find such property must hand it over to the nearest police station.

The warning follows the arrest of 29 people in Dhading for allegedly breaking open a bank safe that had been swept downstream by floodwaters and taking cash from it.

Police Warn Against Keeping Flood-Recovered Valuables

Nepal Police said people who recover valuables or important documents from floodwaters should immediately report them to authorities so they can be returned to their rightful owners.

Police warned that concealing, using, keeping or buying and selling such property could amount to an offence and invite legal action.

The warning comes as security personnel remain stretched across affected areas, with rescue teams continuing to search for people missing after the floods swept away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges across parts of Nepal and Tibet.

The disaster began after an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26 triggered a massive surge of water and debris. The Bhotekoshi River carried the flood downstream, devastating settlements across several districts and damaging infrastructure, including hydropower projects.

More than 13,100 people have been rescued, according to Nepal Police.

The scale of the destruction has also created a major challenge in identifying the dead. Officials said at least 85 recovered bodies were children, while around 500 bodies were recovered with missing body parts. Many victims were badly damaged or decomposed after being carried through water and mud.

Chitwan recorded the highest number of recovered bodies at 362, followed by Nawalparasi East and West, Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Gorkha, Dhading and Tanahun.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said only 98 bodies had so far been identified and handed over to families.

DNA Samples Used To Identify Victims

With hundreds of bodies still unidentified, Nepal Police has begun collecting DNA samples from relatives of people reported missing.

Families can provide samples through the Nepal Police Hospital in Kathmandu or their nearest district police office. Authorities said more than 1,000 unidentified bodies have been buried after DNA samples were collected.

Meanwhile, the government is working to provide temporary accommodation and restore essential infrastructure. Schools and hospitals have been used to house displaced people, while longer-term resettlement plans are being prepared.

Information and Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina said authorities were also working to ensure that relief supplies reached affected communities without shortages or mismanagement.

The recovery has, however, been complicated by fresh flooding.

Early Sunday, the Namrung Khola River overflowed in Gorkha’s Chumnubri Rural Municipality-4, sweeping away four houses and a suspension bridge. Residents escaped after noticing the approaching flood and no casualties were reported.

Authorities suspect the river may have been temporarily blocked near its source before suddenly releasing a surge of mud and debris. Two small hydropower projects were also damaged.

Residents living along the Budhigandaki River, into which the Namrung Khola flows, have been advised to remain alert as rescue and recovery operations continue.