Nepal floods: UN and partners launch $49.6 million emergency appeal

KATHMANDU, 4 September 2026 — The United Nations and humanitarian partners today launched a US$49.6 million flash appeal to deliver life-saving relief to over 84,000 people affected by catastrophic flash floods and landslides across northern Nepal.

Operating under the overall leadership of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), the four-month response plan addresses critical operational gaps identified by the Government to prevent further hardship and disease outbreaks as winter approaches in high-altitude Himalayan communities. The United Nations and humanitarian responders are working in partnership with ongoing Nepalese emergency operations. 

The catastrophe, triggered on 26 August, has claimed over 1,250 lives, leaving thousands missing and displacing entire villages across the Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading regions. Survivors face tragic losses of family members, homes, and rural livelihoods. Widespread destruction of critical infrastructure has severed transport routes, disrupted power grids, and washed-out local water supply and sanitation systems, leaving isolated populations without basic necessities.

To mitigate immediate suffering and safeguard vulnerable populations, the joint response targets essential humanitarian needs across multiple sectors. Direct cash transfers will be deployed where local markets remain functional to give families the dignity to buy essential goods while stimulating local economies. To protect displaced communities before winter sets in, aid teams will distribute cold-weather shelter materials and supply portable solar units to households to restore essential power and light in off-grid zones.

Humanitarian operations will also restore damaged water networks, deploy rapid purification systems, and deliver hygiene supplies to halt the spread of waterborne illnesses. Emergency mobile clinics will provide immediate medical treatment and nutrition support, while protection teams work to reunify children separated from their families. In addition, aid teams will distribute emergency food aid and manage surviving livestock to protect rural livelihoods.

"Families have lost everything: their loved ones, their homes, their livelihoods, swept away in minutes," said Lila Pieters Yahia, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nepal. "Working under the Government's leadership, this appeal will get cash, shelter, health care, clean water and protection to the hardest-to-reach communities before winter closes in."

• Video: https://bit.ly/4gATyNx 
• Photos: https://bit.ly/4A2wvD5  
• Link to Flash Appeal: https://reliefweb.int/report/nepal/nepal-rasuwa-flood-flash-appeal-4-september-2026