On the morning of August 26, 2026, the country suffered a major disaster when floods swept through the Bhote Koshi River in Nepal’s Rasuwa District. Full details of the damage to lives, property, and physical infrastructure have not yet been received. Various questions have been raised about this disaster from different angles. Our fraternal and friendly parties and organizations around the world have expressed their condolences and inquired about the situation. In this context, our party extends its heartfelt thanks to all who have offered their sympathy regarding this natural disaster and presents its views as follows.

The Himalayan mountain range is considered the youngest and most geologically active landmass on Earth. Generally, avalanches or rockfalls in the Himalayan region are natural and geographical processes. However, in recent times, such incidents have been occurring more frequently, and their impact and severity have become more serious. As a country located in the lap of the Himalayas, natural disasters in Nepal include floods, landslides, inundation, earthquakes, droughts, and storms.

The reason for such natural disasters in the Himalayan region is the widespread and uncontrolled use of fossil fuels, excessive carbon and greenhouse gas emissions, and the resulting increase in atmospheric temperature since humanity entered the era of capitalist industrial development. Though it may seem to have come as a “sudden” disaster, this calamity has only occurred after all the geographical, geological, and environmental prerequisites were internally met. It is an environmental crisis caused by rising temperatures and climate change resulting from greenhouse gas emissions.

The flood that occurred on August 26, 2026, in the Bhote Koshi River in Nepal’s Rasuwa District is the most recent incident. The flood has caused extensive loss of life and property, as well as damage to physical infrastructure, primarily in the three upper districts of Nepal-Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading-and has also affected four downstream districts: Gorkha, Tanahun, Chitwan, and Nawalparasi.

Although the flood caused damage in both Nepal and neighboring China, Nepal has suffered comparatively more due to its greater length and dense population. It is estimated that more than 1,000 Nepali citizens have died as a result of the flood, while thousands more are missing. Similarly, the flood has swept away thousands of residential homes, schools, government and administrative buildings, roads, and the physical structures of various hydropower projects in the villages and towns of the districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan, Tanahun, and Nawalparasi, located on the banks of the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers.

The Trishuli–Bhote Koshi river corridor is home to numerous hydropower projects, including the Kerung border crossing for bilateral trade between Nepal and China, and it is an area frequented by tourists and pilgrims. Therefore, that area is densely populated with domestic and foreign nationals from various districts of Nepal and from abroad, who have come to work, for tourism, and for pilgrimage. Therefore, of all the floods Nepal has experienced to date, this one has caused an exceptionally high loss of life and property in a limited geographical area, resulting in the loss of a large number of young, male-dominated labor force.

The following is the information provided by the team our party formed to conduct an on-site study of the flood damage and submit a report.

Affected settlement details:

(i)In Rasuwa District, Gosainkunda Municipality, Amachhodibamo Rural Municipality, Kalika Rural Municipality, and Uttaragaya Rural Municipality, which were the most affected by the flood, most of the total 21 settlements have been completely washed away.

(ii) 30 settlements in Bidur Municipality, Belkotgadi Municipality, Tarakeswar Rural Municipality, and Kispab Rural Municipality of Nuwakot district have been directly affected. (iii) In Dhading district, 16 settlements in Ghalchi Rural Municipality, Gajuri Rural Municipality, Beni Ghat Roraa Rural Municipality, and Siddhaleek Rural Municipality have been directly affected.

1. Physical Damage Details:

(i)In Rasuwa district, 1800 private homes, 28 public institutions, 8 community schools, 14 banks and financial institutions, 1 gas station, 8 hydropower projects, 9 concrete bridges, 10 suspension bridges, and 41 km of roads have been damaged.

(ii)In Nuwakot district, 4,000 private homes, 8 public institutions, 11 community schools, 24 banks and financial institutions, 1 gas station, 3 hydropower projects, and 4 km of roads have been damaged. (iii) In Dhading district, 1,500 private homes, 14 public institutions, 10 community schools, 5 financial institutions, 1 petrol pump, 1 hydropower project, 5 concrete bridges, 9 suspension bridges, and roads in 15 places, including Krishnabhir, have been damaged.

2. Humanitarian Casualty Details:

(i) In Rasuwa district, as of this report, the number rescued has reached 1,250; 2,130 are missing, and 133 have died. The death toll is expected to rise significantly.

(ii) In Nuwakot district, to date, the number rescued has reached 2,500, 477 are missing, and 51 have died.

(iii) In Dhading district, there are 477 directly affected, 500 rescued, 147 missing, and 9 dead. The death toll is expected to rise significantly.

Even after the first quarter of the twenty-first century has passed, the state of Nepal has not prepared a detailed blueprint for national development, taking overall national security into account. As a result, human settlement, urbanization, and physical infrastructure development projects have not been carried out according to Nepal’s unique geographical location. Consequently, Nepal has repeatedly suffered from such natural disasters. Had projects for human settlement development and physical infrastructure construction been carried out scientifically, taking potential threats into account, this kind of damage could have been avoided. The main reason for the high number of human casualties this time is the unplanned settlement along the riverbanks. To prevent such disasters, the state must prepare and implement plans based on land-use policies.

No government formed in Nepal so far has paid attention to using advanced technologies-primarily coordinated with China-to provide early warnings about natural disasters such as avalanches and floods. The state and the current government remained inactive for the first two days after the flood hit, and even afterward did not mobilize the full might of the state for rescue operations. However, there was plenty of photo-op propaganda. Because the government failed to mobilize its full strength by coordinating with local governments, political parties, and social organizations under a “single-window” policy, the rescue efforts were ineffective. As a result, many people trapped by the flood lost their lives. Even the survivors have not been properly managed.

The government should have initially called on the international community to use the rescue technologies and skills developed by humankind. The Prime Minister not only rejected the offers from several countries to send rescue technology and personnel, but instead made the absurd statement from the parliamentary rostrum that “there is no technology in the world to clean tunnels filled with flood sludge.” However, six days later, he again appealed to the international community for technology and expertise. In this way, the Prime Minister appeared utterly irresponsible and incompetent in disaster management. Had high-level expertise and advanced technology been used from the very beginning, the human toll could have been much lower.

The developed industrial countries, including the United States, Europe, China, and India, are responsible for the rise in global temperatures and climate change. To date, the United States has contributed approximately 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, Europe about 17 percent, China around 14 percent, and India about 8.4 percent. Nepal’s contribution to this is negligible, at less than 0.1 percent. The profit-driven monopolistic capitalist production system that dominates globally, the uncontrolled use of fossil fuels, and the unjust wars waged by imperialist countries to expand their dominance are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.

The United Nations has been organizing international conferences every year in the name of environmental protection. Since Donald Trump became president, the United States has withdrawn from the UN’s Paris Agreement, which aimed to keep the Earth’s average temperature within 1.4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and other industrialized countries have not fully implemented the agreement to reduce carbon emissions.  Thus, the least developed countries in the world, including Nepal, have had to bear the brunt of this to serve the interests of imperialist nations. Therefore, the Nepal government should raise this issue at the United Nations and demand compensation for the damage and losses caused by environmental imbalances.

As Karl Marx said long ago, human beings are an inherent part of nature, so we cannot protect our interests by going against the laws of nature. If we do, nature will take action against us and restore its balance. We must understand the recent Rasuwa–Bhote Kosi flood in the same context.

Our demands and slogans:

• Provide proper rehabilitation for flood victims who have been left homeless!
• End the single-window system for relief and rescue operations!
• Coordinate with local governments, political parties, and social organizations to accelerate relief and rescue efforts!
• Establish a cross-border mechanism with neighboring China to exchange climate-related information!
• Organize human settlement, urbanization, and physical construction and development plans based on Nepal’s geographical characteristics!
• Implement the Paris Agreement on climate change!
• Immediately provide compensation to all countries suffering from greenhouse gas emissions!

• Down with global imperialism and monopoly capitalism!
• Long live the new democratic–scientific socialist revolution!

Central Headquarters,

Revolutionary Communist Party of Nepal (RCPN).

Date: September 9, 2026