One month after the Aug. 26 floods, Nepal’s disaster agency reported 5,644 people still missing and 1,453 bodies recovered. The government estimates recovery will cost $4.77 billion; nearly 33,000 people have been affected.
Rescuers are still searching for the missing, including many believed to be trapped in six hydropower-project tunnels. Authorities said only 112 recovered bodies had been handed to relatives; 1,333 were temporarily buried pending identification. DNA samples from relatives are being compared with remains, with experts from India, China, the United States, Singapore and South Korea assisting.
About 7,500 homes were damaged or destroyed. Recovery efforts focus on reopening roads and bridges, especially in remote areas where damage has hindered aid deliveries. Crews are building bridges, though a roads engineer said more bad weather in the coming days would make the work difficult. At the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Balendra Shah called the floods a warning about climate risks facing the Himalayan region and sought international recovery support and stronger regional cooperation.
