Kathmandu: Families in flood-hit areas of Nepal are holding symbolic funerals for missing loved ones as the death toll from last week’s flash floods rose to 1,252, with more than 4,200 people missing.
According to Nam News Network, official data revealed the grim statistics, highlighting the severe impact of the natural disaster. In neighbouring China, 21 people were killed, and 541 remained missing, including 261 foreigners. This brings the combined death toll for both countries to 1,273, with 4,757 people still unaccounted for, including 844 foreign nationals.
In Rasuwa, one of Nepal’s hardest-hit districts, families have been creating funeral effigies using kaas-kush, or sacred grass, to perform final rites for missing relatives. The Kathmandu Post reported that these rituals are intended to “liberate the souls” of those presumed lost, as hope for recovering their bodies diminishes. On Wednesday, a mass funeral was held at the Pashupati Aryaghat temple in Kathmandu, where dozens of such effigies were cremated on the banks of the Bagmati River.
In Chitwan, another severely affected district, authorities have been forced to bury unidentified bodies after collecting DNA samples due to the overwhelming number of remains, which has made individual identification and storage challenging.
The disaster has left many flood victims without places to observe mourning rituals, as floodwaters have swept away both family members and homes across several districts. Those who have lost everything and travelled to Kathmandu in search of shelter have also struggled to find space at public facilities for conducting rituals.
Meanwhile, military personnel, police, and other rescue teams continued their efforts in flood-hit areas on Thursday. However, they encountered difficulties due to disrupted roads, power supplies, and communication lines across wide regions. Rescuers are also working to deliver relief supplies and maintain hygiene in shelters to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
The natural disaster struck on August 26 when a glacier on Nepal’s Mount Langtang Lirung fractured at an altitude of about 5,200 metres (17,060 feet), triggering an ice-rock avalanche. This avalanche developed into a massive debris flow, devastating valleys along the border. The floodwaters and mudslides severely affected Nepal’s Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, and Kavre districts, as well as the Kathmandu Valley. It also impacted the Gyirong border crossing in China’s southwestern Xizang Autonomous Region, also known as Tibet.