Nepal Flood Leaves Hundreds of Christians Dead or Missing
A rock and glacier collapse near Langtang Lirung peak triggered a massive flash flood on August 26 that swept more than 60 miles down river valleys along the Nepal Tibet border. As of September 26, the combined confirmed death toll across Nepal and Tibet stands at roughly 1,453, with more than 6,100 people still missing in Nepal alone and over 9,200 injured. Christian congregations in the hard hit Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts have reported heavy losses. Punaruthan Ecclesia in Betrawati and Himalayan Christian Church's plant in Timure are among the congregations that lost members, and roughly 100 Christian homes were destroyed in Rasuwa alone.
Pastor Rajan Guru described the moment the water hit, saying he saw people running and being washed away while screams filled the air. Relief director Timothy Dangal said the most urgent need is food, and that no one can compensate for the lives already lost. Search and recovery efforts, including DNA identification of remains, are continuing more than a month later in valleys that remain difficult to reach, with officials now describing much of the search as a recovery rather than a rescue operation.
