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Kathmandu, Nepal— Severe monsoon flooding submerged central Nepal on October 31, 2026, leaving 20 people dead and triggering flash avalanches that buried roads and homes.

The worst damage was reported in Bagmati and Gandaki provinces. Rivers rose three meters in six hours. The Trishuli and Marsyangdi overflowed their banks. Villages near the banks were under water by dawn. Residents climbed onto roofs.

Nepal’s Home Ministry confirmed 20 fatalities by late afternoon. At least 12 were killed in landslides that hit hillside settlements. The rest drowned in floodwaters. More than 30 people were listed as missing. Police said the numbers would move.

Avalanches came fast in higher ground. Not snow. Mud, rock and water. They slid off saturated slopes and slammed into clusters of houses. One wiped out a section of the Prithvi Highway, the main link between Kathmandu and Pokhara. Buses were stranded on both sides.

The Department of Hydrology had warned of heavy rain for 48 hours. The warning was not heeded in many rural areas. Many families live right on floodplains. They farm there. Local officials said sirens failed in two districts because power was already out.

Rescue teams from the Armed Police Force used rubber boats in Chitwan and Nawalpur. In some places the current was too strong. Boats flipped. One rescuer was injured. Helicopters could not fly until noon because cloud cover was too low. People waited on trees.

Kathmandu’s airport saw delays. Domestic flights were grounded. The highway closures trapped trucks carrying food and fuel. Prices rose in the capital within hours. Shopkeepers said vegetables would not arrive today.

The monsoon this year has been erratic. Dry weeks followed by brutal downpours. Hydrologists said soil cannot absorb it. Deforestation on steep slopes makes it worse. Concrete river embankments channel water faster into towns that never had drainage.

By evening, water was still rising in parts of Terai. The government opened 15 schools as temporary shelters. Families carried cooking pots and goats inside. Officials said relief would be distributed tomorrow if roads reopen.