Nepal Deploys Rescue Helicopters After Budhi Gandaki Flood

Military rescue teams in north-central Nepal deployed helicopters and soldiers after a flash flood swept through communities along the Budhi Gandaki River on Sunday, damaging infrastructure and forcing evacuations. Five people were reported missing, but no deaths had been confirmed as of Monday, October 12, 2026, according to the Associated Press. Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported that 95 people, including nine foreign nationals, had been transported to nearby towns.

Rescue crews were delivering food and other essential supplies while evacuating residents and tourists from affected areas. The government said an early warning gave most people time to move to higher ground before the flood struck. The disaster followed a landslide near Chumchure village that initially blocked the river, triggering the subsequent flood.

The flooding damaged or destroyed five bridges, construction sites belonging to three hydropower plants, and dozens of homes and farms, according to the Associated Press. Authorities had not established how many small villages across the mountainous region were affected.

Relief operations relied on different transportation methods depending on access. Trucks carried food, tents, medicine and other supplies to locations connected by road, while Nepal Army helicopters delivered assistance to remote mountain settlements. The affected region includes trekking routes popular with hikers, and October is among the busiest months for visitors. The evacuation effort therefore included both local residents and tourists caught in areas threatened by the rising water.

Videos shared on social media showed houses and sheds being carried away by the swollen Budhi Gandaki River as it flowed between steep mountain slopes. The river joins the Trishuli River, an important waterway near Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. The latest flooding comes as Nepal continues recovering from a much larger disaster in August along the mountainous border with China. That earlier catastrophe killed more than 1,400 people and left thousands missing, according to the Associated Press.

Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah's office announced on October 5 that search and rescue operations for the August disaster had ended. Recovery efforts were shifting toward repairing damaged infrastructure as authorities continued addressing the consequences of the earlier catastrophe.