New flash flood in Nepal leaves five missing
A landslide blocked the Budhi Gandaki River, prompting the evacuation of villages.
Follow-up to: New flash flood forces villages in Nepal to evacuate Sunday, 11 October 2026, 08:48
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At least five people have gone missing in central Nepal after a landslide blocked the Budhi Gandaki River on Sunday and the water suddenly broke through. Emergency services evacuated residents; according to initial reports, no deaths have yet been confirmed.
The flooding hit the area around the Budhi Gandaki in Gorkha district. Nepal’s disaster authority warned residents along the river to seek higher ground and brought residents of several villages to safety. The water swept away houses, bridges and parts of the infrastructure.
According to the disaster authority’s initial information, five people are missing. The Nepalese armed forces deployed helicopters and ground troops and reported that 49 people had been rescued. Local and national sources may still revise the number of missing people as emergency workers reach the affected area.
The flooding began after a landslide temporarily dammed the river. When the natural dam gave way, the accumulated water was released in a short space of time. Four bridges were damaged or destroyed and about 30 houses were swept away or badly damaged. A construction site for a hydropower plant was also damaged.
The authorities maintained an elevated warning level on Sunday into the evening. Damage to bridges, electricity pylons and communications towers is making it more difficult for emergency workers to reach remote locations. The rescue operation is therefore focusing simultaneously on evacuation, locating missing people and restoring connections.
The new flooding comes shortly after the severe disaster in Nepal in August, in which more than 1,400 people were killed and thousands went missing, according to earlier reports. That earlier disaster took place mainly along the border with China. The events are geographically distinct, but have exposed the same vulnerability: villages in mountainous areas are quickly cut off when rivers and access roads are blocked.
The precise scale of the damage and the final number of casualties are not yet known. The reports of five missing people are a provisional estimate; it has also not yet been established how many people had to leave their homes or how long the main routes will remain closed.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The main claims are confirmed by AP and Reuters and date from 11 October 2026. The text clearly maintains the provisional nature of the casualty figures.
- confirmed A landslide blocked the Budhi Gandaki River and caused sudden flooding. — Reported by AP and Reuters. source
- confirmed At least five people are missing. — Nepal’s disaster authority reported this, according to AP and Reuters; it remains provisional. source
- confirmed The army rescued 49 people. — This figure appears in AP’s report of 11 October. source
- confirmed About 30 houses and four bridges were damaged or destroyed. — These damage figures were reported by AP. source
Editor's note
The evacuations, the landslide, the damage to houses and bridges, and the provisional report of five missing people are certain. The number of missing people and the total damage may still change; no independent final count is available.Sources
- Villages evacuated as flash flood from Budhi Gandaki river hits northern Nepal — The Associated Press
- Nepal urges villagers to evacuate after flood triggered by landslide, 5 missing — Reuters via MarketScreener
- Budhi Gandaki Flood: Situation Report No. 1 — BWSN Nepal
The story so far
- Sunday, 11 October 2026, 08:48 New flash flood forces villages in Nepal to evacuate
- Sunday, 11 October 2026, 13:48 New flash flood in Nepal leaves five missing (this article)
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „nepal overstroming”
- AD — „nepal overstroming”
- de Volkskrant — „nepal overstroming”