Many Nepalis swept away in the floods aren’t officially dead, leaving families in limbo
More than 5,000 people remain missing after a deadly flood on the China-Nepal border, and Nepal has ended rescue operations. Families are performing Hindu last rites using effigies of kusha grass, but without official death certificates they cannot access compensation or settle property and inheritance matters.
Madan Lal Lawat lost five relatives, including his brother, and says officials have been unable to tell him how to obtain certificates. Nepal generally presumes a missing person dead only after 12 years, and the law has no clear exception for disasters like this. More than 1,400 bodies have been recovered, while DNA identification is slow; the disaster assessment says 7,570 private buildings were damaged or destroyed, affecting nearly 33,000 people.
- More than 5,000 people remain missing after Nepal’s floods.
- Families need death certificates to claim compensation and resolve inheritance.
- Nepal’s 12-year presumption rule does not clearly cover disasters.
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A deadly flood on the China-Nepal border left more than 5,000 people missing, and Nepal has ended its rescue operations. About 1,400 bodies have been recovered, but DNA identification is slow, and many remains still cannot be found or identified.
Families face a legal and financial crisis because Nepal requires 12 years to legally presume a missing person dead. Without official death certificates, relatives cannot claim government compensation or settle matters of inheritance and property, leaving them trapped in uncertainty.
Many families have performed Hindu funeral rites using symbolic grass effigies. The floods damaged or destroyed nearly 7,600 homes and affected close to 33,000 people across the region.