A view of damaged structure following the flash flood in Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers in Nepal on September 1, 2026. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)Nepal’s Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle said on Saturday that the final toll from the August flash floods is expected to reach the same as that of the 2015 earthquake at 10,000 deaths.As of Saturday, Nepal’s disaster management authority puts the death toll at 1,411 and the number of people missing at 5,875.“The floods were geographically concentrated, but the human toll has been as massive as the 2015 earthquake,” Wagle said. The dead and missing include pilgrims, tourists, traders and small businessmen, he added.Also Read | Why the Nepal floods are a warning for the Himalayas, and IndiaWagle was speaking at a seminar organised by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) in New Delhi. The Nepalese finance minister is on a three-day trip to India for high-level diplomatic and bilateral meetings, including with his counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.He commended India’s prompt relief and rescue assistance following the flash floods, and announced that Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah is expected to visit India by the end of the year.Connectivity, including roads, railways, airways and waterways, between the two countries was one of the major points of discussion with Sitharaman and Jaishankar.Also Read | ‘Just finished the trek’: Woman’s message to family before she went missing in Nepal floodsOver the last decade-and-a-half, “we have seen visible changes” on this front, including three world-class highways connecting border towns and integrating the Himalayan country with the Indian hinterland north of the Ganges. “I think it’s been very positive,” Wagle said.Story continues below this adOn clean energy, the minister said Nepal had 4,000 megawatts (MW) of capacity, with a lot more in the pipeline. “Our ambition is to go up to 35,000 MW over the next nine years, by 2035, of pure clean energy,” Wagle said.The floods, however, have hit this sector hard.In the Trishuli basin, Wagle said that close to 800 MW (or 20% of the total capacity, including both operational and under construction capacity) has been wiped out. Some Korean and Chinese investments have also been hit, he said, adding that “the large Indian-invested projects are in the far east and far west of Nepal, and not in this region.”Also Read | Nepal flash floods: Hanging glacier collapse in focus, NDMA for hard look to reduce future risksThe floods also affected 13 hydropower plants, including several under-construction projects, and a solar power plant, Nepal’s Energy Ministry had said in an earlier statement.At least one hydropower plant — a 14-MW Devighat hydropower plant — that supplies electricity to India was among the power plants affected by the floods, The Indian Express had earlier reported.Story continues below this adLast week, the Centre approved Nepal’s request for early import of electricity from India to offset a generation shortfall caused by the disaster. India will export 654 MW of electricity daily for 18 hours a day (from midnight to 6 pm) from September 13 to December 31. The hours largely cover solar-generation hours.Wagle also expressed gratitude to India for exporting gasoline and natural gas at a time of upheaval in the world, even as India itself imports them. He said he hoped many of the pending deals on air connectivity, roads and railways would be closed in the near future.Also Read | Why the Nepal floods are a warning for the Himalayas, and India“India and Nepal have an opportunity to renew their partnership by building on the strong ties that already exist,” Wagle said, emphasising on the importance of strengthening connectivity and economic cooperation and realising the considerable potential that the two countries can achieve together.Munu Mahawar, Additional Secretary (North), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India noted that the two countries have made significant progress in areas such as connectivity and power, while emphasising the opportunity to advance more ambitious projects and initiatives that have remained unrealised for decades.Devansh Mittal is a Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in the New Delhi City bureau. He reports on urban policy, civic governance, and infrastructure in the National Capital Region, with a growing focus on housing, land policy, transport, and the disruption economy and its social implications. Professional Background Education: He studied Political Science at Ashoka University. Core Beats: His reporting focuses on policy and governance in the National Capital Region, one of the largest urban agglomerations in the world. He covers housing and land policy, municipal governance, urban transport, and the interface between infrastructure, regulation, and everyday life in the city. Recent Notable Work His recent reporting includes in-depth examinations of urban policy and its on-ground consequences: An investigation into subvention-linked home loans that documented how homebuyers were drawn into under-construction projects through a “builder–bank” nexus, often leaving them financially exposed when delivery stalled. A detailed report on why Delhi’s land-pooling policy has remained stalled since 2007, tracing how fragmented land ownership, policy design flaws, and mistrust among stakeholders have kept one of the capital’s flagship urban reforms in limbo. A reported piece examining the collapse of an electric mobility startup and what it meant for women drivers dependent on the platform for livelihoods. Reporting Approach Devansh’s work combines on-ground reporting with analysis of government data, court records, and academic research. He regularly reports from neighbourhoods, government offices, and courtrooms to explain how decisions on housing, transport, and the disruption economy shape everyday life in the city. Contact X (Twitter): @devanshmittal_ Email: devansh.mittal@expressindia.com ... Read More Tags:Nepal flash floods