Nepal Emergency Response: IMR Stands with The Bhote Koshi – Rasuwa Flood Victims
IMR staff and trekking guides have been directly impacted by the devastating glacier collapse on the Bhote Koshi River and the resulting Rasuwa flood. In a matter of seconds, communities were devastated. Families have lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods. Thousands have been displaced, and the urgent need for clean water, food, shelter, emergency supplies, and medical care is overwhelming.
For International Medical Relief, this disaster has also become deeply personal.
Dawa Sherpa & Nima Tamang — Safe
We are incredibly grateful to share that our IMR trekking guides Dawa Sherpa and Nima Tamang have been confirmed safe.
Lopsang Sherpa, Bal Kumar Tamang & Ang Chering Sherpa — Still Missing
Lopsang, Bal, and Ang remain missing.
Their families are waiting. We are waiting with them. Search efforts continue, and we are holding onto hope and praying for their safe return.
These men are so much more than our trekking guides.
They have walked beside our teams through the mountains of Nepal. They have protected our volunteers, carried our supplies, opened their communities to us, and helped IMR reach patients in some of the most remote places in the world.
They have stood with us. Now IMR is standing with them.
The Scale of the Disaster
The Bhote Koshi–Rasuwa flood, triggered by a glacier collapse on the Bhote Koshi River on August 26, has become one of the deadliest disasters in the region’s history. As of 6:00 PM on August 31, 2026:
- 939 bodies have been recovered
- 3,925 people remain reported missing or out of contact
- 279 people are injured and currently receiving treatment; 168 have been discharged after treatment
- 21,008 security personnel have been deployed for search and rescue
- 499 rescue flights have been flown to reach survivors in inaccessible areas
The Nepal Red Cross Society estimates roughly 93,000 people have been affected by the floods and landslides. Entire settlements — including much of the town of Timure — have been swept away. Roads, bridges, telecommunications towers, hydropower facilities, and bank branches across Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading have sustained severe damage, and the Government of Nepal has declared all three districts disaster-crisis zones for the next three months. Preliminary estimates from Nepal’s Ministry of Finance put reconstruction costs at approximately USD 4.36 billion.
Immediate needs on the ground include search and rescue, emergency medical care, clean water and sanitation, emergency shelter, food, and psychosocial support — needs that will continue long after the search efforts end.
IMR Is Responding
IMR is responding to this disaster as part of the International Disaster Response Network (IDRN). Through our partnerships on the ground and responders trained through IDRN, we are receiving urgent requests for assistance.
IMR is mobilizing medical and disaster-response through critical resources, and emergency funding to help our guides, their families, and communities affected by this disaster. Long-term, we continue to mobilize volunteers who serve on IMR’s annual medical missions.
We are raising emergency funds for food, clean water, shelter, medical care, essential supplies, support for displaced families, and direct assistance to our affected guides and their families.
Several of these families have very young children. We are committed not only to helping them through the uncertainty of today, but to standing beside them for whatever comes next.
Please Help Us Stand With Nepal
Donate. Share this post. Stand with us for Lopsang, Bal, Ang, and for their families and the teams searching for them.
Two are safe. Three are still missing. We are holding onto hope.
The people of Nepal have welcomed us, protected us, and walked beside us.
Now it is our turn to walk beside them.
IMR is standing with them.
How You Can Help
Donate now: Every gift helps provide emergency food, clean water, shelter, and medical care to our guides, their families, and affected communities.
→ Give to the Nepal Flash Flood Relief Fund
Join a medical mission: IMR is planning Himalayan and Nepal medical missions in March and May of 2027. Volunteers are needed now more than ever.
Make it a mission.
Ready to Serve?
Explore upcoming International Medical Relief missions and find the destination, dates, and experience that are right for you.
Ready to Stand With Communities in Crisis?
Disasters like this one don’t wait — and neither do we. Explore IMR’s disaster relief and emergency response efforts to learn how our volunteers and partners mobilize when crisis strikes, and find out how you can be part of the response.
Serve with purpose. Be the good.
