The tremors that triggered the deadly flash floods in Nepal on Wednesday morning were caused by a landslide, not an earthquake, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) clarified late Wednesday evening.
At 8:37 am Nepal time, the USGS said Thursday reported seismic activity as a 4.4-magnitude earthquake along the Nepal-China border, north of Kathmandu.
The agency said seismic activity initially reported as an earthquake “was instead a glacial collapse and debris flow” that “caused subsequent catastrophic impacts downstream. However, the agency later clarified that the event that was initially reported as an earthquake “was instead a glacial collapse and debris flow.”
Rescuers are racing against time to find survivors and bodies buried under the slush, with Prime Minister Balendra Shah pledging all government resources to relief work. The Nepal police have recovered 157 bodies, and officers are working towards moving families from flood-risk areas. At least 403 tourists, 341 of them foreigners, were unaccounted for several hours after the disaster struck, according to the tourism ministry. The missing foreigners included 142 Indians, as well as others from Australia, Britain, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, and the United States, the tourism board said. Meanwhile, on the Tibet side, China’s state broadcaster said three people were killed and 265 missing in Gyirong. Geological Survey said on Thursday (August 27, 2026). Earlier reporting noted: The cause of the disaster was not immediately clear in the hours after it occurred early on Wednesday (August 26, 2026), but Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal had said an earthquake likely triggered a landslide, in turn blocking a river and sending water gushing downstream.
It said the deaths were still being verified and rescue efforts were ongoing. Earlier reporting noted: Glacial collapse caused seismic activity, ‘catastrophic’ Nepal floods: USGS A glacial collapse caused seismic activity and “catastrophic” downstream impacts in Nepal and Tibet , the U.S. Earlier reporting noted: The agency said seismic activity initially reported as an earthquake “was instead a glacial collapse and debris flow” that “caused subsequent catastrophic impacts downstream”.
