FOX Weather meteorologists Stephen Morgan and Britta Merwin explain the importance of flood safety.
THE TAKEAWAY
- Nearly 400 people have been reported missing.
- 3 American tourists with Fishtail Tours and Travel Tourism Agency are among the missing.
- 2 Nepal Army helicopters have been deployed to support rescue and emergency response efforts.
RASUWA, Nepal – A destructive flash flood devastated the Rasuwa area in Nepal on Wednesday.
At approximately 8:30 a.m. local time (around 10:45 p.m. ET Tuesday), a flash flood swept through the Bhote Koshi River.
Houses lie partially submerged in muddy water along a riverside after flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 26, 2026. A massive flood swept through Nepal’s northern Rasuwa district on August 26, damaging roads and power infrastructure as authorities scrambled to assess the scale of the destruction.
(Photo by Prabin RANABHAT / AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The flood entered Nepal from the Tibetan side of the river, causing damage to settlements in the Timure and Syabrubesi area.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), at least 384 people are missing, 3 of which are American tourists.
Nepal’s National Disaster risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) has stated, “An initial study based on the analysis of satellite images by Planet Labs indicates that a glacier-inclusive flood occurred in the Lhende River due to a snow-rock landslide that took place on the Nepal-China border approximately 20 kilometers northeast of the Nepal-China Rasuwagadhi border crossing.”
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TOPSHOT – Rescue personnel carry a person affected by flash floods at Devghat in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 26, 2026. Massive flooding killed eight people in Nepal on August 26, as Chinese state media reported “major casualties” from a mudslide at a Tibet trade hub on China’s side of the nations’ shared border.
(Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP via Getty Images) -
Houses lie deluged in sludge after flash floods at Devghat in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 26, 2026. Massive flooding killed eight people in Nepal on August 26, as Chinese state media reported “major casualties” from a mudslide at a Tibet trade hub on China’s side of the nations’ shared border.
(Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP via Getty Images) -
Rescue personnel use an excavator to carry a person affected by flash floods at Devghat in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 26, 2026. Massive flooding killed eight people in Nepal on August 26, as Chinese state media reported “major casualties” from a mudslide at a Tibet trade hub on China’s side of the nations’ shared border.
(Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP via Getty Images) -
A house lies deluged in sludge after flash floods at Devghat in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 26, 2026. Massive flooding killed eight people in Nepal on August 26, as Chinese state media reported “major casualties” from a mudslide at a Tibet trade hub on China’s side of the nations’ shared border.
(Photo by Prabin RANABHAT / AFP via Getty Images) -
Houses lie partially submerged in muddy water along a riverside after flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 26, 2026. A massive flood swept through Nepal’s northern Rasuwa district on August 26, damaging roads and power infrastructure as authorities scrambled to assess the scale of the destruction.
(Photo by Prabin RANABHAT / AFP via Getty Images) -
Houses lie partially submerged in muddy water along a riverside after flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 26, 2026. Massive flooding killed eight people in Nepal on August 26 as Chinese state media reported “major casualties” from a mudslide at a Tibet trade hub on China’s side of the nations’ shared border.
(Photo by Prabin RANABHAT / AFP via Getty Images) -
TOPSHOT – A house lies partially submerged in muddy water after flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 26, 2026. A massive flood swept through Nepal’s northern Rasuwa district on August 26, damaging roads and power infrastructure as authorities scrambled to assess the scale of the destruction.
(Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP via Getty Images) -
TOPSHOT – Residents look at houses partially submerged in muddy water after flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 26, 2026. A massive flood swept through Nepal’s northern Rasuwa district on August 26, damaging roads and power infrastructure as authorities scrambled to assess the scale of the destruction.
(Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP via Getty Images) -
Houses lie partially submerged in muddy water along a riverside after flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 26, 2026. A massive flood swept through Nepal’s northern Rasuwa district on August 26, damaging roads and power infrastructure as authorities scrambled to assess the scale of the destruction.
(Photo by Prabin RANABHAT / AFP via Getty Images)
In a press release, the NTB stated, “Nepal Tourism Board, Tourist Police and tourism stakeholders are working to verify the whereabouts and safety status of tourists and travelers who were in or traveling through the affected areas.”
The U.S. Embassy in Nepal has said that they are working to account for U.S. citizens who may have been affected by the Rasuwa flooding.
Nepali authorities report severe flooding in Rasuwa and have issued warnings for communities along the Bhote Koshi, Trishuli, and Narayani rivers.
U.S. citizens in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, Chitwan, and Tanahun should stay away from riverbanks and low-lying areas, seek… pic.twitter.com/u3pAb5T8M0
— U.S. Embassy Nepal (@USEmbassyNepal) August 26, 2026
Stay with FOX Weather as this story continues to develop.
