United Nations Office for Project Services puts Nepal's glacier flood recovery need at 4.8 billion dollars

27 October 2026

Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the United Nations Office for Project Services, briefed journalists in New York on Nepal's recovery after the glacier collapse of 26 August, which sent a wall of water more than 100 metres high travelling at 180 kilometres per hour and devastated 60 kilometres of valley. More than 1,500 people lost their lives and 5,600 remain missing, and some 100,000 people were affected, including more than 30,000 children. More than 100 bridges collapsed, while 13 hydropower dams and 23 schools were destroyed and about 2.2 million tonnes of debris and sediment now cover homes, schools, roads and rivers. Recovery needs are estimated at 4.8 billion dollars, equivalent to 10 per cent of Nepal's gross domestic product, and a flash appeal for 50 million dollars has raised 24.5 million dollars. Nepal, a least developed country, emits 0.08 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.