State Department Says 13 U.S. Citizens Reached Safety After Nepal Floods; 80 Still Unaccounted For
The Harry S. Truman (HST) building of the U.S. Department of State. (Official State Department photo by Serkan Gurbuz)
About 80 Americans remained unaccounted for Monday in the Nepal-China cross-border region, five days after a disaster that triggered Nepali-led search-and-rescue operations, while 13 U.S. citizens had reached safety in Nepal, the State Department said.
In a statement to NepYork, the department said its embassies in Kathmandu and Beijing were working with local authorities and tour agencies to assist Americans in affected areas. The statement, provided on background and attributed to a State Department spokesperson, said the Trump administration’s highest priority was the safety and security of Americans.
The State Department said the remote and difficult-to-access terrain in the devastated region could slow efforts to verify and share information about individual cases.
“As of 9:00 a.m. EST Aug. 31, the State Department is aware of approximately 80 Americans unaccounted for in the Nepal/China cross-border region,” the spokesperson said. “We can confirm that 13 American citizens have made their way to safety in Nepal.”
The United States has offered Nepal search-and-rescue assistance and is prepared to support operations if the Nepali government requests it, according to the department. Disaster-response advisers have also been deployed to the region, and consular staffing at the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu has been increased to provide around-the-clock support.
The department said it was providing more than $3.6 million in humanitarian aid to Nepal. That includes $500,000 provided shortly after the disaster through Catholic Relief Services for food, shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene and direct financial assistance to flood-affected communities.
Catholic Relief Services sent an initial shipment of U.S.-funded supplies to affected areas Aug. 28, including blankets, plastic sheeting, tents and solar lights, the department said.
An additional $185,000 will go to Catholic Relief Services for protection programs, including mental health and psychosocial services, as well as child-friendly spaces in schools and evacuation centers. The United States has also activated $3 million through the World Food Program to provide up to three months of emergency food assistance to 10,000 flood-affected households.
The funding is also intended to address supply-chain disruptions by helping rehabilitate damaged roads and mobilize specialized transportation to reach communities cut off by the disaster, the department said.
The State Department urged Americans in affected areas to follow instructions from local authorities, monitor local news and enroll in the department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP, for emergency updates.
Americans seeking information about relatives or close friends in Nepal can call 1-888-407-4747 from the United States and Canada, or 1-202-501-4444 from elsewhere. Those seeking information about relatives or friends in China can call 010-8531-4000 from within China or 011-86-10-8531-4000 from the United States.
The department said it was continuing to gather reliable information on individual cases and would release additional details when available.
Nepal Police said 974 bodies had been recovered as of 8 p.m. Monday, local time, while 4,599 people remained unreachable following the flooding centered in the Rasuwa district, near Nepal’s border with China. Rescue workers continued searching affected settlements, hydropower facilities, and river corridors.
More than 11,300 people have been rescued so far, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said. The Nepali Army has conducted 499 helicopter missions, including 88 flights on Sunday, and evacuated 3,657 people by air — 3,404 Nepalis and 253 foreign nationals. Private-sector operators have conducted 29 additional flights from Kathmandu.
According to a situation update released Monday evening by the Nepal Tourism Board, 315 foreign tourists have been rescued from the Bhotekoshi flood zone, including 187 from India, 108 from China, four each from Germany and Malta, two each from Italy, Russia, Turkey, and the U.S., and one each from Bulgaria, Oman, Portugal, and Switzerland. Five additional tourists—three Spanish, one American, and one Belgian—are in contact with officials, while 583 remain out of communication.
The Tourism Board noted that key infrastructure has been severely impacted, including the Kathmandu–Mugling road (Prithvi Highway), where river erosion at Krishnabhir caused a section of the road to collapse. Authorities advised travelers to check latest road and weather conditions before traveling near affected districts and noted that tourist sites outside the Bhotekoshi–Trishuli river corridor remain fully operational.