Kathmandu: Nearly 5,000 people are estimated to have gone out of contact following devastating floods in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, although authorities have yet to establish the exact number of people missing or affected. As of the third day after the disaster, the government has been relying on preliminary technical assessments, local reports and information from security agencies to determine the scale of the human toll.

According to a Home Ministry official, around 5,000 mobile numbers that had been active in the area stretching from Gosainkunda in Rasuwa to Devighat in Nuwakot before the floods were found to be inactive afterwards. The preliminary estimate was made by analysing mobile network data obtained from Nepal Telecom and Ncell. Officials, however, have stressed that a mobile phone being switched off does not necessarily mean that its user is missing, as communication networks and electricity supplies have been severely disrupted across the affected areas.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) has so far received information that 1,924 people are out of contact, including 933 employees working at various hydropower projects. The floods and landslides have damaged roads, bridges, telecommunications infrastructure and other essential services, making it extremely difficult for authorities to verify reports and compile a complete list of missing people. Search and rescue teams have been deployed in several affected areas along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river corridors.

Preliminary information also indicates that around 517 foreign nationals may be out of contact following the floods and landslides. By Friday, authorities had received nearly 2,000 inquiries from relatives and other concerned individuals seeking information about people whose whereabouts remain unknown. The affected areas include settlements in Rasuwa and Nuwakot as well as locations frequented by tourists visiting Gosainkunda, raising concerns that the final number of people affected could increase as more information becomes available.

The government is now working to consolidate mobile network data from Nepal Telecom and Ncell with information collected by local administrations, security agencies and families of those reported missing. Authorities have intensified search and rescue operations along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river basins while efforts are also underway to restore transportation and communication links. Officials say a clearer picture of the disaster’s human toll is expected to emerge as rescue teams gain access to isolated areas and verify reports of missing and stranded people.