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Bloomberg

Nepal urged international travellers not to abandon the Himalayas, declaring the country open for tourism as it continues to assess the human and economic toll from catastrophic floods that killed more than a thousand people.
“Our mountain trails, trekking routes are still waiting for you,” Tourism Minister Khadak Raj Paudel said in a video message on social media, using the hashtag #NepalCalling. “Your coming to Nepal this time does not mean only a holiday. It’s a big support to the country fighting this catastrophic tragedy of flash flood.”
The plea comes as harrowing images of destroyed villages, roads and bridges – and reports of deaths following last week’s floods – threaten to deter tourists even from parts of Nepal largely untouched by the disaster.
One of Asia’s poorest economies, Nepal faces a daunting reconstruction effort as higher fuel costs from the Iran war, weaker tourism and slowing growth weigh on the economy.
The disaster has compounded the challenges facing the nation’s 36-year-old Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who rose to power this year on a wave of Gen Z disaffection.
The disaster was triggered last week by a glacial collapse that sent ice, mud, rocks and water surging through a valley in Nepal, wiping out entire settlements in its path. Videos showed people running for their lives as walls of water and debris swallowed buildings, tore down bridges and power lines, and washed away trees, boulders and vehicles.
So far, about 590 foreigners from 39 countries remain missing, according to figures from Nepal’s foreign ministry.
The total death toll in Nepal has climbed to at least 1,114 as of Wednesday morning, with rescue operations continuing. Nearly 4,000 people are still unaccounted for.
Specialist teams from Nepal, India, China and South Korea are meanwhile trying to reach workers missing from flood-hit hydropower projects, pushing into tunnels and digging from above in an effort to find alternative access points.
Teams have made it hundreds of metres into some tunnels before encountering passages completely blocked by debris. Nearly 950 workers at hydropower projects remain unaccounted for, according to the Independent Power Producers’ Association of Nepal (IPPAN), though it’s unclear how many were underground when the floods struck.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said its tunnel rescue team overcame several challenges such as restricted access space and marshy tunnel floors to move deeper, and would continue its efforts to try and rescue any individuals that may still be trapped inside.
Nepal’s Home Minister Sudan Gurung said on Tuesday that authorities had “not lost hope” of finding survivors.


The disaster has damaged infrastructure, including at least 12 hydropower projects in Nepal’s Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts, according to IPPAN.
“The scale and extent of the damage caused by this disaster are becoming increasingly clear as access has improved and more details are now available,” Nepal’s foreign ministry said in a separate statement.
“Given the magnitude of the destruction, Nepal anticipates requiring substantial international support during the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase.
“This has been an exceptionally painful and difficult time for Nepal.”
At least 11,993 people have been rescued so far in Nepal, with emergency crews relying on helicopters and other aircraft to reach communities cut off after floods and landslides destroyed roads and bridges.
On Wednesday morning, India said a fifth aircraft departed for Nepal with an 11-member rescue team, specialised equipment and 5.5 tonnes of essential medicines.


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Flood-hit Nepal urges tourists to return: ‘our mountain trails are waiting for you’

A drone view shows excavators and rescue equipment at the core disaster-hit area at Gyirong Port following the August 26 mudslide in Shigatse, China’s Tibet autonomous region, on Tuesday. Photo: cnsphoto/Reuters

People gather to light candles and pray for the victims of flash floods at the site of a mass burial in Chitwan, Nepal, on Tuesday. Photo: AP

People salvage their belongings from a building damaged by flash flooding in Nuwakot district of Nepal on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Army rangers and a policeman carry a victim airlifted from an area affected by flash floods in Trishuli, Nepal, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Nepalese army personnel take cover from the rain as they prepare the ground for the mass burial of flash flood victims in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday. Photo: AP

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A rescuer helps a resident through heavy mud following flash floods on Thursday in Trishuli, Nepal. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

Army personnel conduct a search and rescue operation for flood victims along the Narayani river at Bharatpur in Nepal’s Chitwan district on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Volunteers in Kathmandu work on relief collection and distribution for flood survivors. Photo: Bibek Bhandari 

Nepal floods: rescuers send air pipe into tunnel with trapped workers

Nepal Army personnel rescue a survivor from a hydropower tunnel on Friday, following flash floods in Rasuwa District. Photo: Nepal Army via EPA

Nepal Army personnel rescue survivors from a hydropower tunnel on Friday, following flash floods in Rasuwa District. Photo: Nepal Army via EPA

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The plea comes as the calamity threatens to deter international visitors even from parts of Nepal largely untouched by the disaster


The plea comes as the calamity threatens to deter international visitors even from parts of Nepal largely untouched by the disaster.


2026 China-Nepal flash floods

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Flood-hit Nepal urges tourists to return: ‘our mountain trails are waiting for you’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The plea comes as the calamity threatens to deter international visitors even from parts of Nepal largely untouched by the disaster

The plea comes as the calamity threatens to deter international visitors even from parts of Nepal largely untouched by the disaster