A Disaster Without Warning

On the morning of 26 August 2026, disaster struck the mountains north of Kathmandu with almost no warning.

High in the Himalayas near the Nepal–Tibet border, a huge section of glacier ice and underlying rock, more than a kilometre across, broke away at around 5,000 metres. It crashed thousands of metres into the valley below, carrying enormous quantities of ice, rock and debris and temporarily blocking the river.

When the blockage released, an immense surge of water, mud and debris tore down the Lhende Khola into the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems. Within minutes it had reached Rasuwagadhi on the Nepal border. There was almost no time to escape.

The flood swept through settlements including Timure and Syabrubesi and continued down the Trishuli valley through Rasuwa, Nuwakot and beyond. Homes, roads, bridges and livelihoods were destroyed or buried. Entire communities have been devastated, with thousands of people dead, missing or displaced.

Many survivors are now living in schools, temporary shelters and makeshift camps, often with little more than the clothes they were wearing when the flood struck. Damaged roads, continuing rain and unstable hillsides are making it extremely difficult to reach some of the worst-affected communities.

The Human Impact & Our Response

Nepal has been part of Juniper Trust’s work for more than 30 years. Following the devastating 2015 earthquake, we rebuilt 20 schools, many of which we continue to support today. Through those years of voluntary work, we have built a trusted network of friends, volunteers, organisations and suppliers throughout Nepal, allowing us to respond quickly when disaster strikes.

Our approach is simple: find out what people actually need, buy it in Nepal and get it to them as quickly as physically possible.

Working in partnership with Rotary in Kathmandu, local volunteers and contacts in affected areas, we are receiving information directly from communities and responding to their most urgent needs.

In the first few days, we purchased essential medicines, blankets, gumboots, hygiene and sanitary products, nappies, clothing, power banks with emergency torches, cooking equipment, utensils and hundreds of metres of matting.

Juniper Trust arranges the drivers and vehicles needed to transport these supplies from Kathmandu directly towards the affected communities, using trucks and 4WD vehicles wherever road access allows.

The situation continues to change. As immediate emergency relief reaches some areas, our attention is increasingly turning towards what comes next – particularly supporting children, schools and smaller communities as they begin the long process of recovering.

Latest Update – 8 September

Despite the devastation of the past two weeks, yesterday brought one small but important sign of hope. Schools have begun reopening in the communities we are supporting in Rasuwa, taking children back into their classrooms – including children displaced by the floods and some who have lost parents or other close family members.

Juniper Trust has now decided to support three of these schools, which between them are looking after up to 500 children. We expect to have final numbers shortly, including the number of children who have lost parents or other close family members.

Rasuwa is a district in northern Nepal bordering Tibet and was one of the areas at the heart of the disaster. Numerous villages and settlements along the Bhote Koshi and upper Trishuli valleys were devastated, with more than 1,000 households displaced in Uttargaya Rural Municipality alone.

Our latest relief delivery into Rasuwa arrived safely after an incredibly difficult 48-hour journey from Kathmandu. The supplies were received by our local representative, divided into individual relief packages and distribution to affected families began immediately.

Our attention is now turning to the three schools.

Heavy rain is continuing in Kathmandu and throughout the Trishuli Valley. Roads remain blocked or badly damaged and, in the present conditions, we have been told that reaching the schools could involve a difficult three-day journey.

For the moment, we are going to wait. There is little point sending another truck simply because we can. We want the rain to ease, the roads to become safer and, most importantly, the schools to tell us exactly what the children need.

Once we have that information, we plan to purchase and send a truckload of supplies for the three schools and the children they are now looking after.

This is something Juniper Trust knows how to do. Following the 2015 earthquake, we rebuilt 20 schools in Nepal, many of which we still support. We already have trusted contacts, volunteers and suppliers on the ground, so supporting these three schools is a natural continuation of that work.

Behind all of this are some very difficult individual stories. The tragedy has touched almost everybody in these communities. Even some of the volunteers helping us have suffered terrible losses within their own families, yet they continue to give their time and energy to help others.

We are expecting another report from our volunteer in Rasuwa shortly, which should give us a clearer picture of the situation in some of the remaining affected communities and help determine where our support goes next.

For now, seeing schools reopen and children returning to classrooms – even in the middle of everything they have been through – is an important sign of hope. Helping these children regain some stability and normality feels like exactly where Juniper Trust should be focusing its efforts.

A massive thank you to everyone who has donated, shared the appeal, connected us with people on the ground or helped in any way.

Please donate whatever you can and, if you’re unable to donate, you can still make a real difference by sharing the appeal.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for regular updates from Nepal and to see how your support is helping.

Thank you from everyone at Juniper Trust, and from our friends and colleagues in Nepal. ❤️🙏🇳🇵

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