Nepal flood emergency

A catastrophic flash flood has torn through communities along Nepal’s Bhote Koshi River, after a massive glacier and ice-rock collapse high in the Himalayas triggered a surge of water, mud and debris. Whole settlements, bridges and stretches of road have been swept away along the river’s course from the Tibet border down into Nepal’s Rasuwa district. Hundreds of people have died and more than a thousand are still missing.

Humanity First India and partner teams are already on the ground in the flood-hit areas, delivering immediate relief to families who have lost their homes. Your donation to Humanity First UK’s disaster relief fund helps that response reach more people.

What happened on the Bhote Koshi

The disaster began far above the villages it destroyed. On the morning of 26 August 2026, a large section of a glacier broke away at around 5,200 metres and fell roughly 1,200 metres onto the valley floor, gathering rock and sediment as an ice-rock avalanche. The debris crashed into the Lhende River in Tibet and briefly dammed it. When the natural dam gave way, it sent a wall of water down the Bhote Koshi and on into the Trishuli. River levels rose by as much as 9 metres in barely half an hour, sweeping away the Rasuwagadhi border crossing, bridges, hydropower plants and long sections of the only overland road linking Kathmandu to Tibet, with almost no warning.

As of 28 August 2026, the UN reports that 538 people have been confirmed dead in Nepal, with around 1,000 still missing and a further 560 missing across the border in Tibet. Almost 3,750 people have been rescued, and at least 93,000 have been affected. UNICEF estimates that around 10,000 school-aged children in the area need support to keep learning. The danger has not passed either: a new barrier lake has formed upstream, and rescue operations have been suspended at times as it threatens to overflow and send a second surge downstream.

How Humanity First is responding in Nepal

Humanity First India and partner teams are on the ground in the flood-hit areas, delivering immediate relief to displaced families. The response so far includes:

• A hot meal kitchen cooking and serving meals for families who have lost their homes.
• Care packs handed out to affected families, with the essentials to get them through the first days after the flood.
• A primary care medical service run by volunteer doctors, treating people cut off from their usual healthcare.

This is the rapid response our disaster relief fund exists for. Humanity First has carried out 284 disaster responses across 111 countries, reaching 2.9 million people, working with local partners and authorities to get aid directly to the families who need it. Your donation helps our teams do more, in Nepal now and wherever the next emergency strikes.

How you can help

Make a one-off donation. Give whatever you can to our disaster relief fund. Every amount helps us respond where the need is greatest.

Give monthly. Regular giving by Direct Debit lets us plan and respond faster when disasters strike. You can set it up on our regular giving page.

Add Gift Aid. If you are a UK taxpayer, ticking the Gift Aid box adds 25% to your donation at no extra cost to you.

Fundraise for our work. Rally your family, workplace or community by setting up a page on our JustGiving page.

Humanity First UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (charity number 1188494), regulated by the Charity Commission and the Fundraising Regulator, and you can see where donations go in our annual reports.