ILO assessment says Nepal's flood damage will carry job losses far beyond the flooded districts

1 October 2026

UN News reported on 1 October 2026 that the International Labour Organization had released a preliminary assessment of how the deadly flash floods in northern Nepal disrupted employment and livelihoods. The catastrophic flooding in late August, triggered by a glacier collapse on the border with China, destroyed homes, workplaces, roads, bridges and energy infrastructure. More than 1,450 people were killed and 5,786 are still missing, according to the authorities. The ILO estimated that some 21,400 employed people live within four kilometres of the flood footprint, and that the disaster blocked workers from reaching jobs, markets and essential services. Two key overland routes, Rasuwa and Tatopani, accounted for some 22 per cent of Nepal's imports from China over the past year, and the floods severely damaged critical transport infrastructure in Rasuwa, which is responsible for nearly half of exports to China. Numan Özcan, ILO Country Director for Nepal, said the employment consequences of the disaster will not stop at the edge of the flooded area. The assessment warned that daily-wage, casual and informal workers and the self-employed are at heightened risk, and recommended immediate income support for households and businesses, employment-intensive reconstruction and job matching and skills development.