Nepal floods

On 26 August 2026, a catastrophic flash flood swept through Timure, Rasuwagadhi and Syabrubesi in Rasuwa in Northern Nepal, destroying homes and lives. 

Over 1355 people have lost their lives, and over 5,000 people are still missing, including children. The death toll expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue. Rescue operations have been severely constrained by destroyed roads and bridges, high river levels, damaged communications, and difficult mountain terrain, leaving communities cut off. The destruction is likely to make it difficult to reach isolated communities and could significantly delay the delivery of assistance. 

Children are among those most vulnerable in the aftermath of disasters like this and face heightened risks to their health, safety, protection, and wellbeing. The raging flood waters came without warning at a time when children were on their way to school or starting classes.

We know from our experience responding to other disasters in Nepal that the crisis has immediate and long-term implications for children and vulnerable households, including displacement, loss of livelihoods and income, disruption to education and heightened child protection risks.

While the immediate, lifesaving response is underway, the full impact of the disaster will take time to become clear. We know that families and children have been impacted on a massive scale, and that there will not be a quick recovery. We need sustained support and flexible funding from governments and donors.

We are on the ground in Rasuwa with emergency aid for 1000 families and are seeing severe damage to communities. We are working with national and local authorities to ensure that aid gets to families now.

Please donate to our Children’s Emergency Fund to support children affected by the floods in Nepal. Donating to our Children's Emergency Fund means we can act as soon as a crisis hits and deliver lifesaving support wherever it is needed, when it matters most.

To effectively respond to the disaster, Save the Children has established a new field office in the affected district of Nuwakot. We have reached over 6,000 individuals, including 2,216 children, in coordination with five local government bodies in Nuwakot and Dhading districts, with lifesaving assistance. 

Over 1130 households were reached with Non-food-items (NFIs), including tarpaulins, baby kits, mosquito nets, dignity and hygiene kits, blankets, kitchen utensils, water and sanitation supplies and other critical life-saving assistance.

Three Temporary Learning Centres (TLCs) have been established alongside Child-Friendly Spaces at Nuwakot, providing children with a safe and supportive environment to learn, play and recover following a disaster of this scale. 

With the help of local authorities, we have helped to reunite more than 69 children with the parents or legal guardians (as of 30 August). 

Our priority is to ensure that the response is safe, timely and dignified, and that no child, woman, girl or marginalised person is placed at greater risk as a result of the crisis or the response.

Ensuring access to clean water, water purification supplies and essential sanitation is an immediate priority to help prevent disease outbreaks and protect children and families.

Save the Children has six warehouses across Nepal with pre-positioned life-saving non-food items, with capacity to support up to 10,000 families during a mega-disaster. This pre-positioned capacity enables us to mobilise and dispatch essential assistance within 24 hours following major disasters and shocks, helping us reach children and families quickly when they need support most. 

We plan to expand the scope of our response to match the needs of the children and communities.

By giving to Save the Children’s Emergency Fund, you can help protect a children caught up in emergencies like the Nepal floods, helping to protect a child’s life and future.

Our Children's Emergency Fund is a central pot of funding for emergencies. It gives us the flexibility to respond quickly and wherever the need is greatest.  It means we have funds ready for when a disaster strikes, so we don’t have to wait to reach children in crises.

With every year that goes by, crises become more frequent, last longer and affect more people. There are now twice as many natural disasters as there were 20 years ago.  

The needs are huge, but so is our determination to reach every last child in crisis. By giving to Save the Children’s Child Emergency Fund, you can help protect a children caught up in emergencies like this latest earthquake in Venezuela, helping to protect a child’s life and future.

Please give to our Child Emergency Fund today. Your donation will allow our response teams to protect children better, faster and for longer.