Government offices and Nepali diplomatic missions lowered the national flag to half-mast in honour of those who lost their lives. The day marked the 13th day since the disaster, a significant point in Nepal’s traditional Hindu mourning period, as families gathered to remember relatives whose bodies had been recovered and others who remain missing.
The scale of the disaster remains enormous. International reports have put the death toll at about 1,398 across the affected areas of Nepal and Tibet, while thousands remain unaccounted for. However, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported on Monday that 1,355 bodies had been recovered from the flood-hit areas and around 5,000 people were still missing. The figures remain subject to verification as search teams continue recovering bodies and identifying victims.
The floods were triggered by a major glacial and mountain collapse along the Nepal-China border, sending huge volumes of water and debris through communities and damaging homes, roads, bridges and hydropower facilities. The destruction has made access to some of the worst-hit locations extremely difficult and complicated the search for survivors.
A major focus of the ongoing rescue operation is the search for hundreds of hydropower workers who were in tunnels when the disaster struck. Authorities estimate that about 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped inside tunnels. The possibility that some may still be alive has kept rescuers working despite the difficult conditions.
Hope was strengthened by the rescue of several people from the affected sites in recent days. Two Nepali workers were pulled alive from a hydropower tunnel on September 4, while a Chinese national was rescued from another tunnel the following day. Another Nepali survivor was rescued from a house in Betrawati. The successful operations have encouraged rescuers to continue searching areas where people could still be trapped.
Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said rescue operations were continuing at the same pace, with teams searching from the ground, air and inside tunnels. Rescue personnel are working alongside specialised teams from India, China and South Korea, while teams from other countries have also provided assistance and equipment.
The operation has become increasingly international as Nepal seeks specialised equipment and technical assistance. The government has requested high-capacity drones, LiDAR equipment, tunnel-rescue suits, pumps, DNA testing kits and other supplies needed for search, recovery and identification operations.
For families of the missing, however, the continuing rescue operation has brought both hope and frustration. Relatives gathered in Kathmandu on Monday to urge authorities to intensify the search, particularly for workers believed to be trapped inside hydropower tunnels. Some families continue to wait for information about loved ones more than a week after the disaster.
The identification of victims has also become a major part of the response. Nepalese authorities are collecting DNA samples from relatives of missing people and from recovered remains to help establish identities. Foreign forensic teams from several countries are assisting with the process, reflecting the large number of foreign nationals affected by the disaster.
The government has also been working to restore damaged infrastructure and reconnect communities cut off by the floods. Roads, electricity networks and telecommunications infrastructure suffered extensive damage, while temporary bridges and other emergency measures are being used to improve access and allow relief supplies to reach affected communities.
Despite the national mourning, search and rescue operations have not stopped. Authorities say available resources remain mobilised as teams continue looking for survivors, recovering bodies and providing assistance to people displaced by the disaster.
For Nepal, the national day of mourning has therefore been both a moment to remember those who died and a reminder that the disaster is far from over. Thousands of families are still waiting for answers, while rescuers continue working through damaged communities and dangerous tunnels in the hope of finding more survivors.
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