News Alert: “Mountains of Water” Devastate Nepal Valleys as Hundreds Remain Missing
At least 95 people have been killed and hundreds remain missing or unreachable after a massive flash flood tore through Nepal’s Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors on Wednesday morning.
The flood struck with little warning, sending a surge of water reportedly up to 10 meters high through communities in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading districts. Entire settlements have been destroyed, while early assessments indicate that 42 kilometers of a major highway and nearly 30 bridges have been washed away.
More than 300 people remain stranded on isolated hillsides, including some sheltering in caves, as downstream communities remain under evacuation orders. Destroyed roads, bridges, and landing sites are severely restricting access for emergency, search and rescue, and humanitarian workers.
Mercy Corps is coordinating closely with local authorities and humanitarian partners to identify the most urgent gaps and determine how best to support emergency response efforts.
Suraj Sigdel, Mercy Corps Nepal Country Director, says:
“We can only imagine what it was like to hear a deafening roar and to look up and see mountains of water bearing down. The flood tore through entire valleys in minutes, sweeping away homes, markets, roads, and bridges and leaving a path of near-total destruction. People ran for higher ground, abandoning everything. Hundreds are now stranded on isolated hillsides and some have taken refuge in caves. Families are terrified, exhausted, and still trying to learn whether missing relatives and neighbors are alive.
“In places, whole settlements have disappeared. Communities that were connected yesterday are now cut off by kilometers of missing roads and collapsed bridges. The immediate priorities are urgent medical care, safe shelter, clean water, food, and essential supplies to survivors."
Mercy Corps has worked in Nepal since 2005, supporting communities affected by earthquakes, floods and landslides and strengthening disaster preparedness and early-warning systems.
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