The death toll from a catastrophic Himalayan glacier collapse has surged past 1,000, making it Nepal's deadliest natural disaster since the devastating 2015 earthquake, officials said Tuesday as rescue crews raced to reach communities still cut off by destroyed roads and bridges.

Nepalese authorities now count at least 1,010 dead and 3,916 people still missing, while China has confirmed 16 deaths and 546 missing on its side of the border, according to a live tally from Al Jazeera. More than 11,800 people have been pulled to safety so far.

The disaster began roughly a week ago when a mass of ice broke away high in the mountains along the Nepal-Tibet border, triggering a landslide-dam-outburst flood that tore down river valleys with little warning, destroying roads, bridges and entire villages. Seismic data reviewed by the US Geological Survey showed long-period wave signatures consistent with a glacier collapse rather than an earthquake, supporting investigators' leading theory.

Workers Trapped in Flooded Tunnels

Among the most urgent concerns: roughly 900 workers are unaccounted for across a dozen hydropower construction projects damaged by the floodwaters, with an estimated 500 believed trapped inside tunnel systems that rescue teams have struggled to reach. Nepal's army has mobilized helicopters to ferry supplies and search teams into areas where roads simply no longer exist.

THE IMMENSE IMPACT OF THIS DISASTER IS STILL MOUNTING AS CASUALTIES CONTINUE TO CLIMB

That assessment, from United Nations relief coordinators, reflects a recovery effort still very much in its early, chaotic phase. The UN estimates physical damage — to roads, bridges, power infrastructure and communications lines — at more than $1.3 billion, a staggering figure for one of the world's poorer nations.

Kathmandu and the surrounding valley were among the hardest-hit areas, with entire neighborhoods along riverbanks swept away or buried under debris. The disaster echoes a smaller glacial lake outburst flood in the same Rasuwa border region in July 2025, part of a pattern scientists say is accelerating as Himalayan glaciers retreat under climate change.

What Comes Next

Search-and-rescue operations continue for the nearly 4,000 people still missing, alongside mass burials for the confirmed dead. International aid groups, including Direct Relief, have activated emergency response teams, while Nepali and Chinese scientists work with international partners to formally confirm the disaster's cause. With monsoon season not yet over, officials are also bracing for the risk of secondary flooding and landslides in the same fragile terrain.