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What's happening in Nepal?
On 26 August 2026, a collapsing glacier caused a devastating flood in northern Nepal. The impact of the disintegrating rock and ice was so powerful it had the magnitude of a moderate earthquake, with debris then surging downstream. Waters rose without warning, leaving children and families with almost no time to reach safety.
Villages, homes and lives have been destroyed. As of 23 September, at least 1,453 people had lost their lives and more than 5,600 were still missing. More than 84,000 people have been affected, including at least 32,000 children.
Children are among the most vulnerable in the aftermath of floods, facing increased risks to their health, safety, protection and wellbeing.
Children’s lives changed in an instant. Some have lost their homes and belongings and a sense of security. For a child, losing a home is not just losing a building, it is losing the place where they feel safe.
Tara Chettry
Country Director, Save the Children in Nepal
What we're doing to help children and their families in Nepal
Dil Kamal Chettri/ Save the Children
- Working with local government bodies in Nuwakot and Dhading districts, we have reached 9,523 people, including 4,048 children
- Set up four temporary learning centres, providing children with a safe and supportive place to learn, play and recover
- Reunited 69 children who'd been separated from their families and caregivers
- Distributed 7,510 shelter kits, plus baby kits, hygiene kits and clean water supplies, to families affected by the floods
- Working with the Nepal Army to deliver aid by drone to cut-off areas in Rasuwa, including supplies for babies, hygiene and dignity kits for girls and women, and school kits for children
- Opened six child friendly spaces where children can play, learn and talk to trained facilitators and counsellors
This is what we do every day, helping children and families recover from crises in more than 90 countries around the world.
Please support our lifesaving work today.
Last updated: September 25th
Donate now to support all Save the Children's lifechanging work, including in Nepal, other emergencies, and our vital long-term work around the world. Together we can make sure children are safe, healthy, and learning.
Kala and Sapana's story
Kala* and Sapana*, both 13, are friends and cousins. They like joking around, and playing badminton and ludo together. On 26 August, the flood changed everything.
Sapana was at school when her teacher told her to run. "We broke the barricade and ran uphill," she says. "Sir tried to pull everyone uphill, but he could not save everyone, the flood took half of them." Running alone, she felt scared and lost. "I couldn't think clearly." Her uncles found her, gave her a meal and, the next day, took her to her parents. "I was happy to see my family safe." Their house was gone.
Kala was on the road with her brother and friends when the water came. They ran uphill. "People behind us were swept away by the flood," she says. She lost her brother in the chaos and didn't know where to go, until she found other family members.
Both girls lost their homes. Although the houses were on higher ground, the water was so powerful it swept them away. Now they are living with their families in a community building turned into a shelter.
Save the Children has set up a child friendly space there. It is somewhere children can play, make art, learn and talk to trained counsellors. For Sapana, it also means she can keep learning. "I'm worried about my education and whether it will be spoiled," she says. "I'm also worried about our house. We can't stay here forever. We'll need our own home to live in with our family."
Our hygiene kits have helped too. "Things from Save the Children, like soap and towels, rope, nail cutters and combs have helped us a lot," says Kala.
The girls are smiling again. "She's a friend I can play with," says Kala. "We play with the younger children, then we talk to each other."
People behind us were swept away by the flood.
Friends and cousins Sapana* and Kala* are both 13 and were caught up in the devastating floods of 26 August 2026. Sapana*, Kala* and their families were given hygiene kits by Save the Children which have helped them in the shelter where they are staying . Ulet Ifansasti/Save the Children
*Names changed to protect identity.
Last updated: 14 October 2026. Figures are as of 23 to 25 September.
