Landslide & Flood Disaster – Contextual Assessment Update

On 26 August 2026, a catastrophic landslide and flood and disaster struck the Bhote Koshi river system in northern Nepal, with Rasuwa district among the worst-affected areas. An initial assessment prepared by the National Campaign for Education Nepal (NCE Nepal), forwarded by Bhim Bogati CEO, Rural Education and Environment Centre (REED) Nepal, described a massive flash flood affecting Rasuwa and downstream areas including Nuwakot, Chitwan and Dhading districts (the district in which the village of Tawal and many NAFA projects are located). At that early stage, only 16 deaths had been reported, and the full scale of the disaster wasn’t clear yet. In the days since, it has turned into one of Nepal’s most serious natural disasters in decades.The human impact has been severe. As of the latest Nepalese Government update on 10 September, 1,367 bodies had been recovered, around 5,132 people remained missing, and 13,646 people had been rescued, including more than 300 foreign nationals. Around 600 foreign nationals from 35 countries remain missing. These figures are continuing to change as authorities receive new information about missing people and identify recovered bodies.

International and Australian Response Efforts
Nepal has mobilised its national forces, disaster agencies and provincial and local authorities, supported by a large international response. Specialist tunnel rescue teams from India, China and South Korea are working alongside the Nepali Army. The US, UK, Japan, UAE, Qatar, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and other countries have also provided equipment, relief supplies or technical assistance, together with international organisations. India has a particularly large operation, providing around 95 tonnes of relief supplies already as well as tunnel rescue and medical specialists.
Australia has increased its assistance with the Australian Government committing $11 million in humanitarian support so far. An RAAF C-17 arrived in Kathmandu on 2 September carrying almost 24 tonnes of humanitarian supplies, including hygiene and menstrual hygiene kits, solar lights and phone chargers, shelter toolkits, tarpaulins and community lighting equipment. Australia also sent a 15-person Disaster Assistance Response Team, including specialist drone operators from Fire and Rescue NSW and the Queensland Fire Department. According to the latest Australian Government update, 38 Australians remained unaccounted for, with Australian officials working with Nepalese and Chinese authorities to help find them.
Search and rescue remains a major priority. Attention is being given to hydropower projects and other facilities where workers were trapped in tunnels by floodwater, mud and debris. There have also been some incredible rescues. On 4 September, two Nepali workers were rescued alive from the Upper Trishuli 3A tunnel. By 5 September, a Chinese national had also been recovered alive from a tunnel at Upper Trishuli 1, while a Nepali woman was rescued from a house at Betrawati.
The disaster has caused widespread damage to roads, bridges, villages, government facilities, telecommunications and hydropower infrastructure. This lines up with NCE Nepal’s initial assessment, which reported markets, hydropower facilities, residential areas and government buildings being swept away in Rasuwa, along with major damage to roads and bridges further downstream. The Nepalese Government’s early assessment puts losses across sectors at approximately NPR 387.5 billion, or AUD$3.57 billion, and growing.

Impact on Education
The impact on education, where much of NAFA’s focus is for its development projects, is also becoming clearer. The disaster has significantly disrupted children’s education. UNICEF reports at least 20 schools damaged, affecting around 7,000 children, while eight schools are being used as temporary shelters, affecting learning for another 1,300 children. Save the Children reports 69 schools damaged or destroyed and nearly 19,000 students affected. Beyond damage to buildings, flooding has destroyed textbooks, furniture and other learning materials, while displacement has prevented many children from returning to school.

Education agencies are working to restore safe learning as quickly as possible. UNICEF is providing education supplies, supporting assessments and establishing temporary learning spaces. Save the Children has established Temporary Learning Centres alongside Child-Friendly Spaces, while World Vision is providing child protection and psychosocial support. These supports recognise that getting education back on track quickly after disasters provides children with learning opportunities, but also important things like routine, protection, social connection and psychological support.

NCE Nepal also reports that Tribhuwan Trisul Secondary School in Nuwakot had been completely swept away and warned that damaged schools, inaccessible roads and the difficult mountainous terrain could continue to disrupt education for a long period. More temporary learning centres and other alternatives are likely to be needed. This will become more important as the response moves from immediate rescue and relief towards recovery and the restoration of basic services.
For NGOs, rescue and immediate relief are the main priority, but are already starting to think about long-term recovery. The NCE Nepal report highlights some key recommendations:

• Prioritise life-saving emergency response, including rescue, relief and safe evacuation of affected communities.
• Ensure coordinated rescue and relief operations through close collaboration among government agencies, local authorities, security forces, humanitarian actors and civil society organisations.
• Ensure child- and gender-responsive emergency response, giving particular attention to children, women, persons with disabilities, older people and other vulnerable groups.
• Initiate a rapid damage and needs assessment and begin planning for early recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
• Ensure continuity of learning for affected and evacuated students through temporary learning arrangements and other appropriate measures.
• Provide mental health and psychosocial support to affected children, teachers, families and communities.
• Immediately convene the Provincial Education Cluster to assess the impact of the disaster on students, teachers and schools and to coordinate an appropriate education-sector response.

For the Tawal region, being higher up the mountains has protected it from many of the direct impacts of the floods and landslides. However, the area remains isolated with key bridges and roads washed out affecting access to food and other resources, and impacting power and communications. Access to education in the mountainous and hilly regions is already precarious with some students walking many hours to get to schools with limited support, now magnified by the disaster. Given the scale of the damage and the large number of people still missing throughout the affected areas, humanitarian assistance and support for education and community recovery are likely to be needed for some time, supporting NCE Nepal’s appeal for help.