On 26 August, a glacier collapse on the Nepal–Tibet border sent a wall of water, ice, and debris down the Bhote Koshi River into Nepal's Rasuwa District and onward through the Trishuli and Narayani river systems. Nepal Police now report at least 353 people dead and more than 800 missing, and the toll has more than tripled in the past day as access improves.
Bridges and roughly 40 km of road have been destroyed, leaving entire communities reachable only by air, and more than 10,000 households along the Trishuli corridor need emergency shelter and basic household supplies immediately. The Government of Nepal has declared Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading disaster crisis zones for three months. Authorities are also warning of a possible second surge from a newly formed lake upstream that is at risk of bursting.
CARE Nepal has been mobilizing since the first hours. Our immediate response focuses on:
- Getting supplies to families now. We are distributing CARE PACKAGES for Emergencies, which were already stored in Nepal before the flood and could therefore move within hours rather than weeks. Each package holds nearly 40 essentials: shelter materials, water purification, cooking equipment, hygiene supplies, and a solar charger. Each with enough supplies to keep a family of four going for a month. These are going out alongside tarpaulins, kitchen sets, and solar lights through Nepal's national disaster authority and the government relief committee.
- Putting people on the ground. Emergency specialists have been deployed to the affected districts, and our staff is now working inside the national disaster authority to help coordinate the wider response. A further 290 community volunteers, trained by CARE in advance for exactly this kind of emergency, are on standby to deploy with the government's response team.
- Working out what is needed next. Alongside Nepali partner organizations, we are running rapid assessments in the affected districts to identify the most urgent gaps, with particular attention to the needs of women and girls, who are typically the hardest hit and the last to receive assistance.
Given the scale of the disaster, we would be grateful for your donation to support CARE's response in Nepal.
