KATHMANDU, Nepal, Sept 8, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The death toll from Nepal's 
devastating flood rose on Tuesday to 1,357, with 5,326 people still missing, 
the country's disaster authority said nearly two weeks after the August 26 
disaster.

In China, 43 people were confirmed dead and 519 missing, according to state 
media, bringing the overall toll to 1,400 dead and 5,845 missing.

Authorities in Nepal have been trying to verify the numbers of missing people 
by collating data from across the country.

"We have been compiling reports and verifying them. That is what has caused 
the increase in the number," Prakash Pokhrel, assistant spokesman at the 
disaster authority, told AFP.

"We are trying to get to a number that is close to reality."

Rescue work continued in Nepal for a 14th day after the glacial and mountain 
collapse near the China-Nepal border swept away roads, bridges and homes.

Nepali rescuers are focusing on three hydropower projects where they believe 
workers could still be trapped, the disaster agency said.

Hundreds of hydropower workers are among the missing, but the rescue of three 
from deep inside tunnels -- two Nepalis on Friday and a Chinese man on 
Saturday -- has raised hopes that others could still be alive.

"Our search and rescue operation is ongoing," Dharam Raj Uprety, chief of the 
country's disaster authority, told AFP.

"We are hoping that there might still be survivors in at least three 
projects, and we are pushing our operations there."

Foreign experts, including from China, India and South Korea, are aiding 
Nepali teams.

Nepal's foreign ministry said it had not given up hope of finding survivors.

"Hopes of finding survivors remain, and the reported number of people missing 
inside the tunnels remains unverified," the ministry said in a statement.

With mortuaries overflowing, Nepal has buried hundreds of bodies in mass 
graves after collecting DNA samples for future identification, according to 
police.

While the exact cause of the glacial collapse is unclear, climate change is 
accelerating glacial melt worldwide, increasing the risk of such disasters.

Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people that has contributed 
little to the greenhouse gas emissions driving global warming, has said 
reconstruction could cost billions of dollars.

David Fisher, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent 
Societies, said reaching communities isolated by the floods was a daunting 
task because of "narrow and dangerous" access routes.

"Every delay means families wait longer for the support they urgently need," 
he said in a statement.