Nepal marks September 8 as national day of mourning 13 days after August 26 floods kill over 1,300

Nepal on September 8 observed an official day of mourning 13 days after catastrophic flooding on August 26 killed more than 1,300 people in Nepal and Tibet and left approximately 5,000 missing, according to Nepal's disaster management agency. The government lowered flags at state offices to half-staff and ordered rituals to pray for the souls of the deceased, following Hindu tradition in which mourning periods last 13 days and close family members remain home while relatives visit to pay respects.

In predominantly Hindu Nepal, cremation constitutes an important final rite, and when bodies cannot be recovered, families may perform symbolic funerals during the traditional mourning window. Candlelight vigils were held in several places in Kathmandu in memory of those who lost their lives.

Yet on the same day, families of the missing gathered near the offices of the prime minister and key ministries to demand the government accelerate search and rescue efforts. Hundreds of workers at hydropower plants along the Bhotekhoshi River were either swept away or buried under debris on August 26. According to authorities, rescue efforts have focused on 12 hydropower projects where approximately 900 workers are missing, and roughly 500 workers are believed to be trapped in various tunnels at the sites.

Sumana Shrestha's 55-year-old husband, a consulting geologist working at the project office for the Trishuli hydropower plant, has not been heard from since the day of the flood. The 2 1/2-story office at that site was completely buried by debris. Mahesh Prasad Shrestha, whose brother Niraj Shrestha, a 52-year-old engineer, also worked at the same location, told reporters that authorities only sent a small excavator by helicopter on the sixth or seventh day after the disaster.

Specialized rescue teams from India, China, South Korea and the United States have been searching through debris, damaged structures and tunnels at the projects. As of the mourning day, two Nepalese workers had been rescued from the plant on Friday, and a Chinese man was pulled out on Saturday, according to the reports.