Situation update, 28 August 2026
The Rasuwa flood, and where it is safe to travel
A flash flood swept down the Bhotekoshi from the Tibet border on the morning of 26 August and destroyed much of northern Rasuwa. Hundreds of people are dead and hundreds more are still missing. Search teams are working their way down the river, and the only road linking Kathmandu to the Tibet border is gone.
What happened
Part of an unnamed glacier north of Langtang Lirung broke away and fell several hundred metres. The impact was violent enough to register as a magnitude 5.2 tremor on seismometers as far off as Germany and the United States, and it put a huge volume of meltwater and debris into the river in a matter of minutes.
The surge reached Nepal at about 08:37 and ran 72 kilometres down the Bhotekoshi into the Trishuli, through Rasuwa and Nuwakot. It took the customs post at Rasuwagadhi with it. Around 41 bridges are damaged or gone, along with 42 kilometres of road, including the only overland link between Kathmandu and Tibet. Six hydropower schemes were hit, taking 431 MW off the national grid, and more than 300 vehicles were swept away.
As of 27 August, 389 people were confirmed dead in Nepal and 910 were still missing. Another 3 died and 558 were reported missing across the border in Gyirong county in Tibet. The river carried people a very long way, and bodies have been recovered as far downstream as Chitwan. Soldiers, police and local volunteers have been searching since the water came down.
Officials have not finished investigating what set the collapse off, and the confirmed death toll is still moving. For current numbers, go to Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority or a national news desk rather than this page.
If you want to help, send it to one place
We are pointing everybody at the same account, and only this one.
Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund
Run by the Office of the Prime Minister. Gateway operated by Nepal Clearing House.
By law this money can only go to rescue, treatment, relief and rebuilding. It cannot be spent on running costs, and the accounts are audited every year. That is the reason we are sending people here instead of collecting anything ourselves.
Nepal Clearing House opened the gateway to donors abroad this week, so it now takes international cards as well as Nepali mobile banking, connectIPS and wallets.
Appeals collecting for this flood are already going round social media and messaging groups. We have no way of telling you which of them are genuine, so we are not linking to any of them. Before you type in a card number, check the address bar reads pmdrf.nchl.com.np and nothing else. Swotah does not collect, hold or pass on any of this money.
Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund
Terminal 2222010021637134
Singhadurbar counter
Where things stand
The damage is severe but it sits along one river system. Most of the country was not touched. Here is the split, as clearly as we can put it.
Stay away for now
6 areas- Rasuwagadhi and the Kerung borderThe crossing is shut. The border post and the bridges serving it were washed away.
- TimureOne of the worst hit villages on the river. Recovery work is still going on there.
- SyabrubesiHeavy damage to buildings and services, and the village is still hard to reach.
- Betrawati to Rasuwagadhi roadTens of kilometres of road and a long list of bridges are gone. There is no reliable way north.
- Tamang Heritage TrailThe trail follows the corridor the flood came down. Treat it as shut until surveyors have been through.
- Langtang valley and GosainkundaBoth sit inside the affected catchment. We are not sending anyone up until they have been checked properly.
Running normally
8 areas- KathmanduHotels, restaurants, flights and city services are all running as normal.
- PokharaUntouched. Lakeside and the usual day trips are operating.
- ChitwanThe park and the lodges are fine. Check the highway before you drive down from Kathmandu.
- LumbiniNo impact. Visits are going ahead.
- Bhaktapur and LalitpurBoth cities are fine and open to visitors.
- Everest regionLukla, Namche and the main trail to Base Camp saw no flood damage.
- Annapurna regionThe circuit and the Base Camp trail are clear of this.
- Manaslu regionThe circuit is intact.
If your trip goes through Rasuwa or up the Trishuli, write to us and we will check the state of the road before you commit to anything. Rescue teams are still working in the areas on the left, so please keep them clear.
A note from us
Written on 28 August 2026.
We are a Kathmandu company and we have spent years walking the trails in the north of this country. Watching what happened to Rasuwa this week has been hard.
To everyone who has lost someone, we are very sorry. To the families still waiting for news, we are thinking of you. And to the crews who have been searching the river since Wednesday morning, thank you.
We will keep this page up to date as the picture gets clearer, and we will say so plainly when routes reopen rather than before.
Swotah Travel and AdventureKathmandu, Nepal
Sources for the figures on this page: the Government of Nepal Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Kathmandu Post and TIME. Status of the areas listed above is current as of 28 August 2026 and is being revised by Nepali authorities as surveys come in.