Published: 01:21 AM, 30 August 2026
Nepal flood toll hits 626
The death toll from Nepal's catastrophic floods has risen to 626 as the government estimates it will need $4 billion to $5 billion to rebuild devastated communities and infrastructure.
Nepal Police announced the latest toll on Saturday, Reuters reports, marking another sharp increase as search teams continued working through communities devastated by Wednesday's flood.
At least seven people have also been confirmed dead across the border in Tibet, taking the combined toll from the disaster to more than 630. Thousands remain unaccounted for across Nepal and China, including foreign tourists and pilgrims, according to international media reports.
The rising human cost comes as Nepal begins to confront the enormous financial challenge of rebuilding roads, bridges, hydropower facilities, homes and other infrastructure destroyed by the torrent.
Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle told Reuters on Saturday that Nepal would need an estimated $4 billion to $5 billion for reconstruction.
"This is just an estimate. Loss and damage is being assessed," Wagle said.
The figure is the clearest government estimate yet of the scale of the reconstruction effort facing the Himalayan nation.
The flood swept through the Bhotekoshi river corridor near Nepal's border with Tibet after an ice-and-rock avalanche destabilised the mountain river system, sending water, mud and debris through settlements and infrastructure downstream.
Roads and bridges were washed away, hydropower projects were damaged and communities were cut off as the surge moved through Rasuwa and into the wider Trishuli river system.
The disaster was reportedly triggered by a glacier collapse and that more than 90,000 people were left in need of assistance.
The devastation has also hit one of Nepal's most important trade links with China, compounding the economic consequences of the disaster.
Wagle's estimate remains preliminary, with authorities still trying to determine the full extent of losses across infrastructure, energy, housing and other sectors. Reuters reports that Nepal expects to need international assistance for the longer-term reconstruction and rehabilitation effort.
