Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the floods in Nepal.
A glacial collapse on the Nepal and Tibet border set off a flash flood on August 26, 2026. More than 500 people have died and around a thousand are still missing. If you are trying to find family, or you want to send money and are not sure who to trust with it, here is what we could verify as of August 28.
The essentials
- 538 confirmed deaths in Nepal and about 1,000 people missing as of August 28, 2026, per the United Nations. Roughly 93,000 people affected.
- The worst damage is in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading. Phone and power lines are down in parts of all three.
- If you cannot reach someone, the Red Cross runs a free tracing service. Start there, not with a social media post.
- Sharemoney has removed the transfer fee on all transfers to Nepal through Friday, September 4, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET. Exchange rates are unchanged.
On this page: What happened · If you cannot reach someone in Nepal · Organizations responding · How to avoid donation scams · Sending money to family · Where to follow the story · Questions
What happened
According to the United Nations, as of August 28, 2026, there are 538 confirmed deaths in Nepal and roughly 1,000 people still missing, with a further 560 missing across the border in the Tibet autonomous region of China. Nearly 3,750 people have been rescued. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimates at least 93,000 people affected.
The worst damage is in the central and northern districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading. Eighteen schools were destroyed and twenty more damaged, leaving around 10,000 children without a classroom. Bridges, roads and hydroelectric facilities were hit as well.
Officials have said the emergency is not over. Kamal Kishore of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction described a continuing “extremely high risk” of secondary flooding. The numbers on this page are what was confirmed on August 28 and they are still moving.
If you cannot reach someone in Nepal
About a thousand people are unaccounted for, and phone and power lines are down across the affected districts. Not hearing back does not mean what you are afraid it means. Most of the time it means the network is gone.
The Red Cross runs a free service called Restoring Family Links for exactly this. In the United States you start through the American Red Cross, and the request moves through the Red Cross network inside Nepal. The IFRC is publishing operational updates on its Nepal flash floods emergency page as districts are reached. If the person you are looking for is a US citizen, the State Department is the other place to file.
We cannot help you find anyone. We are a money transfer company. But this is the part most people need first, so it goes first.
Organizations responding on the ground
We did not pick these. Two independent watchdogs did. CharityWatch grades charities on how much of a donation actually reaches the field, and Give.org, run by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, holds them to twenty accountability standards. Both are tracking Nepal right now. Every group below is on one or both lists and is already working there.
| Organization | CharityWatch grade | What they are doing in Nepal |
|---|---|---|
| All Hands and Hearts | A+ | On the ground in Nuwakot. Present in Nepal since the 2015 earthquake, rebuilding schools. |
| Catholic Relief Services | A+ | Working with Caritas Nepal on emergency shelter, relief items, water and sanitation. |
| Direct Relief | A+ | Emergency grant to Mountain Heart Nepal to deploy medical teams with field medic packs. |
| Mercy Corps | A | Operating in Nepal since 2005. Medical care, shelter, clean water, food and supplies. |
| CARE | A- | Through CARE Nepal. Shelter, hygiene and dignity kits with government partners. |
| US Fund for UNICEF | A- | Safe drinking water, sanitation, medical care, nutrition and child protection. |
Give.org also lists the American Red Cross, GlobalGiving, International Medical Corps, Oxfam America, Project HOPE, Save the Children and World Relief among accredited charities responding. You can check any organization’s current standing on either site before you give.
How to avoid donation scams
Fake appeals show up within hours of any disaster, and they are built to look exactly like the real thing. The Nepali community in the US is being targeted specifically, because scammers know that people who cannot reach their families will move fast and check later.
- A text, WhatsApp message or DM asking you to donate is a bad sign, even with the right logo on it. Real charities do not find you that way.
- Nobody legitimate collects donations in gift cards or crypto, or asks you to send to a person’s account. If that comes up, stop there.
- Read the web address letter by letter. Fake sites buy domains that differ from the real one by one character.
- Anyone can start a fundraiser. Give.org says to use crowdfunding only when you know the organizer personally, and that is good advice here.
- “Donate in the next hour” is a sales tactic. Relief operations do not have hourly deadlines.
- Be careful with organizations that did not exist last month. Give.org recommends groups that already had staff and partners in the country before this happened.
If something feels off, close the message and go to the organization’s own site. Type the address in yourself.
Sending money to family in Nepal
For many families the most direct help is money sent straight to relatives who can decide for themselves what they need. In response to the floods, Sharemoney has removed the transfer fee on all transfers to Nepal through Friday, September 4, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET. This applies to the transfer fee only. Exchange rates are unchanged and are set the way they always are.
One thing to check before you send. Roads, bridges and power lines in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading were damaged, so cash pickup locations and bank branches in those districts may not be operating normally. Delivery that is usually minutes may take longer. Check which delivery methods are currently available for Nepal and confirm with your family which one they can actually get to.
Where to follow the story
This page is a snapshot. These sources are updating continuously and are worth following directly if you have people there.
- IFRC Nepal Flash Floods 2026, for operational updates as districts are reached.
- ReliefWeb, run by UN OCHA, for situation reports and needs assessments.
- UN News, for confirmed casualty and displacement figures.
- The Kathmandu Post, for reporting from inside Nepal in English.
Questions
I cannot reach my family in Nepal. What should I do first?
Contact the American Red Cross and ask about Restoring Family Links, which is free. Phone and power are down across the affected districts, so silence is far more likely to be infrastructure than anything else. If the person is a US citizen, also file with the State Department.
How do I know if a donation appeal is real?
Check the organization on Give.org or CharityWatch before you give anything. Ignore appeals that arrive by text, WhatsApp or DM. Never send gift cards, crypto or money to an individual’s account.
Is Sharemoney charging a fee on transfers to Nepal right now?
No. The transfer fee on all transfers to Nepal is removed through Friday, September 4, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET.
Does that change the exchange rate?
No, and we would rather say so plainly. The waiver applies to the transfer fee. The exchange rate is set the same way it was before the floods and has not been adjusted.
Will my transfer arrive if my family is in one of the affected districts?
It depends on the delivery method and where they are. Bank deposit and mobile wallet do not depend on a physical location being open, so they are usually the safer choice right now. Cash pickup depends on that branch or agent being able to operate. Ask your family what they can reach before you choose.
We will keep this updated
Search and rescue is ongoing and the figures here will change. We will revise this page as the UN and the IFRC publish confirmed updates, and we will say when it was last changed.
Sending money to family in Nepal with Sharemoney
Bank deposit, cash pickup and mobile wallet are all available for Nepal, with support in five languages if you need help completing a transfer.
Last updated August 28, 2026. Figures are still being revised as search and rescue continues. Sources: UN News, Al Jazeera, IFRC, CharityWatch and Give.org.
