Villages erased, valleys reshaped: Flying over Nepal’s flood disaster zone
More than one week after devastating floods tore through Nepal, some of the hardest hit areas remain cut off by road. CNA flew by helicopter along the Trishuli River to see the magnitude of the devastation.
An aerial view shows the scale of flood damage in Syabru Besi, Nepal, on Sep 3, 2026, where hundreds of houses were washed away, (Photo: CNA/Jack Board)
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KATHMANDU: The scars of disaster stretch from one valley to the next.
More than one week on from the devastating Aug 26 floods in north and central Nepal, there is still no road to reach the high-altitude villages decimated by the deluge. Right now, only helicopters can do the job.
To head north up the Trishuli River, the main route of the floodwaters, it means taking flight along a busy air route.
From above, the scale of the damage is shocking: kilometre after kilometre where almost everything has been wiped away.
With each bend of the river comes the next town in pieces. And the next.
The latest official figures on Thursday (Sep 3) put the death toll at 1,252, with 4,216 people still unaccounted for. Those numbers continue to rise.
This is one of Nepal’s major hydropower corridors, but it has been ripped apart.
The steep gradients and powerful Himalayan rivers have attracted billions of dollars of investment. Projects, access roads and workers’ camps hug the riverbanks, putting much of that infrastructure directly in the path of the flood.
From above, what appear to be strips of crumpled concrete are the epicentre of ongoing efforts underway at tunnel projects along the Trishuli to save potentially hundreds of workers who may still be alive underground.
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Rescuers are running out of time.
Above Timure, bodies are still being pulled out of the mud, before being strapped to helicopters that fly them back down the valley.
Close to the border with China and about 60km north of Kathmandu, there is very little to suggest a village once stood here.
The small town had grown rapidly around Rasuwagadhi, Nepal’s busiest overland trade route with China, with a customs yard and dry port handling goods arriving from Tibet. The flood destroyed that infrastructure and severed the border crossing.
A little further south about 15km from the border, the village of Syabru Besi, before last week, was a gateway to the Langtang trekking region and a stopping point for pilgrims and travellers heading towards Tibet.
Now, helicopters whir in and out, supplying rescue teams on the ground from Nepal and India.
This riverside used to have about 250 houses and hotels. Some 80 per cent of them are now gone.
A Nepali army official said that about 200 locals are dead or missing, along with 400 others, including foreigners.
A Buddhist shrine marks the end of the road. It has partly survived; inside religious texts and statues sit spattered in mud.
Beyond it, there is nothing but a muddy bank.
The power of the torrent is clear in this place. The landscape has been warped and reshaped.
Scientists believe the disaster began high in the mountains near the Nepal-Tibet border, where collapsing ice and rock unleashed a massive flood that gathered debris as it travelled downstream. Investigations into the precise chain of events are continuing.
Across the river, another operation was ongoing at the mouth of a hydropower tunnel. The Nepali army later confirmed that two bodies were pulled out of that site on Thursday.
Nearly 900 hydropower workers remain unaccounted for following the flood, with authorities believing there could be pockets of survivors protected underground.
At several projects, rescuers believe workers may have reached sections of the tunnels that remained dry, potentially with access to air, water and emergency supplies.
The challenge is the sheer amount of debris. Tunnel entrances are buried under mud, boulders and water.
One army official told CNA that holes were being dug into access points large enough to drop in an excavator that can be used to clear the blockages.
Away from the tunnels, hopes of finding survivors are diminishing. Authorities have insisted that they will nevertheless continue searching and recovering bodies.
A particularly grim issue is identification: of the 1,252 bodies recovered, only 95 had been identified as of Thursday.
Many bodies have been badly damaged or recovered far from where victims disappeared, leaving authorities reliant on DNA and other forensic identification.
Around 4,000 displaced people are now living in temporary centres. Food is reaching many of them, but the humanitarian challenge is changing.
United Nations aid agency UNICEF says damaged water and sanitation systems and crowded shelters are increasing the risk of disease, with at least 22,000 children urgently needing safe water and hygiene support.
Even when roads are restored and the search operations end, returning home will not be possible for everyone.
The dark waters still rage along this valley. They have brought much debris and death to communities that have lost so much and may never rebuild.
Source: CNA/jb(ao)
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