Nepal holds day of mourning for over 1,300 killed in Himalayan floods

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Nepal is holding a national day of mourning on Monday for more than 1,300 people killed in last month's catastrophic Himalayan floods. Government offices and missions abroad are flying flags at half-mast, marking the 13th day since the disaster. The government has not planned wider events as search teams continue looking for survivors and resources remain limited.
Key Facts
- At least 1,380 people were killed and more than 5,500 remain missing after a glacier collapse triggered flooding on the Nepal-China border on August 26.
- Nepal's Ministry of Home Affairs ordered flags at half-mast on Monday, the 13th day since the floods, for the national day of mourning.
- Search teams in Nepal have rescued four people in recent days, including a Chinese national pulled from a hydropower tunnel on Saturday.
- President Ram Chandra Paudel is touring flood-hit areas on Monday to survey damage caused by the disaster.
- Families gathered near government offices in Kathmandu demanding faster search efforts for hundreds of hydropower workers swept away or buried by debris.
National Mourning
Nepal is observing a national day of mourning on Monday, the 13th day since the floods, with flags at half-mast at government offices and missions abroad. The Ministry of Home Affairs announced the observance in a statement, noting that in Hindu tradition this is the final day of the mourning period. No wider government events are planned because search and rescue operations are still ongoing in flood-hit areas, according to Phanindra Paudel of the National Emergency Operation Center. President Ram Chandra Paudel is touring affected areas on Monday to assess the damage, his aide said.
Search and Rescue
A wall of mud and rock triggered by a breaking glacier collapsed into a river on the Nepal-China border on August 26, causing flooding that killed at least 1,380 people and left more than 5,500 missing. In recent days, search teams rescued four people, including a Chinese national pulled from a tunnel at a hydropower site on Saturday. Two hydropower workers were rescued from another tunnel on Friday, and a Nepali woman was pulled from her buried house on Saturday. Families in Kathmandu gathered near the prime minister's office demanding faster search efforts for hundreds of hydropower workers swept away by the Bhotekoshi River or buried by debris.
Families' Plea
Sumana Shrestha stood with family members holding a poster of her 55-year-old husband, a consulting geologist who has not been heard from since the day of the flood. Her husband was supposed to return home after his shift at the Trishuli hydropower plant office, which was buried by debris. "We are here because we have not heard of any rescue attempt on this project, but it has been 13 days already," she said. "The only thing we have been able to do is pray to God and hope for a miracle."