On the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, an enormous mass of rock and ice gave way on the north face of Langtang Lirung, the highest peak of the Langtang Himal, which sits on the Nepal-Tibet border and is listed as the 99th highest mountain in the world. Scientists studying satellite imagery believe bedrock collapsed beneath a glacier at roughly 17,000 feet, taking part of the glacier with it.
The debris briefly dammed the Lhende River, then burst through. Downstream, the Trishuli River rose 30 feet in 30 minutes. For context, 30 feet equals three Golden Gate Transit buses stacked lengthwise on top of one another. It was not raining, and there was no warning.
Rasuwa District took the worst of it, with the settlements of Timure and Syabrubesi (population: approximately 50,000 combined, or the size of Novato) largely destroyed, while flooding continued into Nuwakot and Dhading. As of Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, authorities in Nepal and China confirmed at least 389 deaths, with more than 1,400 people missing — among them more than 500 foreign nationals from 32 countries, including 65 Americans. At least 19 bridges and 25 miles of road are gone; more than a dozen hydropower projects are damaged; and preliminary government estimates put total damage at around $1.4 billion.
This was not simply an act of nature. As the burning of fossil fuels warms the Himalayas, the permafrost that has bound these slopes together for millennia is thawing. Alton C. Byers of the University of Colorado Boulder told The New York Times that warming is measurably weakening that bond, and calls the result “not-so-permanent permafrost.” Glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya lost ice 65% faster between 2011 and 2020 than in the prior decade.
Immediate needs are search and rescue, trauma care, clean water, shelter, and food for communities unreachable by road. Because logistics are the binding constraint, flexible and unrestricted monetary donations give responders far more leverage than in-kind donations. Recovery will run for months: rebuilding bridges and homes, restoring power, and replacing lost harvest and tourism income. Marin Community Foundation welcomes donors who want to address immediate relief, as well as donors concerned about the underlying conditions that make disasters like these more frequent and severe.
Please note, the below organizations are not an exhaustive list of those providing support to communities affected by the Nepal-Tibet floods. For additional information on nonprofits focused on the emergency response to these floods, please reach out to your Philanthropic Advisor directly.