Climate

Nepal floods leave nearly 400 dead and about 1,400 missing

Herz — Climate Desk · 28 August 2026 at 04:44 · 30s summary · 2 min read

The essentials

A mass of water and mud swept through communities along Nepal’s Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers on Wednesday. Nearly 400 people have died and about 1,400, mainly tourists, remain missing. Thirty-nine Australians are among those unaccounted for, including several families travelling on pilgrimages to Mount Kailash in Tibet. Relatives say they have received no clear information about the search efforts.

Nearly 400 people have died in the floods.
About 1,400 people, mainly tourists, remain missing.
Thirty-nine Australians are among those unaccounted for.
Several families were travelling to Mount Kailash in Tibet.

What we know

A mass of water and mud, described as resembling a tsunami, swept through several villages and towns in Nepal on Wednesday. The affected communities lie along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers, according to The Japan Times.

Hundreds of bodies have been recovered, and the death toll has reached nearly 400, according to The Guardian. About 1,400 people, mainly tourists, remain missing.

Thirty-nine Australians have been identified among those missing in the affected region.

Australian families await news

Shylaja Muralitharan, 42, her husband Chandrasekaran Muralitharan, 47, and their sons Ashwin, 14, and Aarush, 11, disappeared on Wednesday morning. The family was taking part in a pilgrimage when the flood struck.

Vaishnavi, Shylaja Muralitharan’s younger sister, lost contact with them shortly after breakfast. She said their relatives remained worried but hoped the family would be rescued.

The family was due to reach an immigration checkpoint on the Tibet–Nepal border. They were travelling with a group of 15 Australians on a Himalayan Glacier Adventures tour to Mount Kailash in Tibet.

Vaishnavi spoke with officials from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She said, however, that she had received no clear information about the efforts to find those missing.

Other pilgrims remain missing

Australian Sumi Adhikari was inside an immigration office at the Gyirong border crossing when the water arrived. She was taking part in a pilgrimage organised by the Isha Foundation, a non-profit spiritual organisation founded in 1992 by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

Her husband, Nava Pandey, travelled to Nepal to seek information about her.

Venkatraman Balakrishnan, 52, and Chitra Venkatraman, 46, a couple from New South Wales, are also missing. They were among the 15 Australians travelling to Mount Kailash.

Sreedharan and Lakshmi Iyer were also travelling to Mount Kailash with their sons Rishab, 23, and Rudhra, 20. All four remain missing.

Rishab and Rudhra play cricket for the West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Cricket Club. Both study medicine at the University of Newcastle.

Several tour groups affected

Eleven other Australians travelling with Trekkers Society and six travelling with Kailash Journeys remain missing. Several other Australian nationals were taking part in tours run by other groups.

Most of the missing Australians are believed to be from New South Wales, with others from Victoria and Queensland.