Nepal floods: people need help now after deadly flash flooding.
Last updated: 15/09/2026
Over 5,000 people including children are missing, more than 1,300 more are dead and communities have been devastated after sudden flash floods struck Nepal's Rasuwa district and parts of the Xizang/Tibet area on 26 August. The flooding, caused by a surge of water entering the Bhote Koshi River from Tibet, swept through villages with little warning.
Families lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods in a matter of hours. Many people have been forced from their homes and are facing an uncertain future as search and rescue efforts continue. It is estimated that 93,000 people have been impacted by the floods.
As more communications are established with our teams on the ground, a clearer picture is emerging of the immense scale of damage and devastation caused to people’s lives.
Nepal Red Cross Society teams were deployed to affected areas immediately, assisting in urgent and ongoing search and rescue efforts. The focus right now is on protecting lives, health and human dignity. Your donations can help them access essential support to help rebuild from this disaster in Nepal and other crises around the world.
Help people in crisis – donate to the Disaster Fund today
How to help people in Nepal?
The best and quickest way to help support those affected by the Nepal floods and other emergencies around the world, is to donate to our Disaster Fund today.
Your donations are supporting our Disaster Fund, which is currently prioritising the Nepal floods emergency. We are working with colleagues on the ground to assess needs and determine how best to provide further support.
Donations to our Disaster Fund are used wherever and whenever they are needed most - this flexible approach allows us to prepare before a crisis hits, and to act quickly when disaster strikes. Last year alone, generous donations to the fund helped us reach more than 513,000 people around the world.
In previous disasters, support like yours has provided these kinds of life-saving supplies:
- £38 could purchase two solar-powered lamps for families who lost their homes in flooding
- £50 could provide a handwashing unit to two families, protecting them and the wider community from the spread of disease
- £112 could help provide two families of five with a month's worth of essential food supplies.
Your gift can help us support people affected by the floods in Nepal, as well as other disasters across the world.
How is the Red Cross helping people in Nepal?
Our first priority is always saving lives. The Nepal Red Cross Society emergency teams responded immediately to the flooding and are on the ground now providing humanitarian relief and aid. Their work includes:
- Establishing emergency camps, providing essential support and shelter for people who have lost or been displaced from their homes.
- Providing essentials such as food, drinking water, emergency toilets and almost 1,000 dignity kits for women and girls.
- Supplying emergency items including first aid kits, blankets, mosquito nets, mattresses and tarpaulins..
- Supporting search and rescue teams. Authorities in Nepal say that, so far, more than 13,000 people have been rescued in the affected areas.
- Launching a drinking water service in the Bidur Municipality of Nuwakot district, installing 5,000-litre capacity water tanks at five critical locations across the municipality. Around 400 households are expected to benefit from the service.
- Establishing a Red Cross emergency clinic in Bidur Municipality, Nuwakot, to provide essential health services to flood-affected communities.
- Helping people to find lost loved ones.
- Offering psychological support and first aid.
Teams have also helped people stay in touch. In Dhunche, Rasuwa, where floodwater swept away homes, roads and livelihoods, a Nepal Red Cross team has reached the village with a generator. More than 100 people are now using the facility to charge their mobile phones and devices – allowing them contact with the outside world and to let worried loved ones know that they are safe.
Authorities in Nepal have warned of the risk of further flooding and have been evacuating people to higher ground. Our colleagues in the Nepal Red Cross Society are carefully monitoring the situation to assess risks to communities and to volunteers responding to this emergency.
A trusted way to help
The British Red Cross is part of the global Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, working with teams on the ground in Nepal to support people affected by the floods.
We work closely with the Nepal Red Cross Society, which is Nepal's largest humanitarian organisation, with branches in all 77 districts and a nationwide network of more than 89,000 volunteers.
As an established charity organisation, we can ensure aid reaches people in need as quickly and effectively as possible.
Donations made to our Disaster Fund will support the flood response through the international Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, working in support of the Nepal Red Cross Society, and with funds managed through established Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement mechanisms. They will also support our response to other crises around the world.
What is the Disaster Fund?
When disaster strikes, the Red Cross is there for people. In any emergency, every second counts and your donation to the Disaster Fund allows us to act fast to provide critical aid and relief.
Please give today so we can reach people in crisis – donate now
Find out more about what’s happening in Nepal and our response
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Hear from Diana Shaw, British Red Cross staff member, who passed through the disaster zone just hours before tragedy struck.
The release of emergency funding means the Nepal Red Cross can act immediately while assessments continue. We will not forget support for their long- term recovery either, since entire villages and market areas have been wiped out
David Fisher, IFRC head of delegation for Nepal