Rescue and relief efforts continue in Nepal as communities remain stranded

Reaching animals in isolated communities 

Access remains one of the greatest challenges. Roads have been destroyed and many communities remain cut off, making it difficult for responders to understand the full extent of animal needs or deliver supplies. 

IFAW is also working with Temple Dog Rescue to explore getting animal food to villages now cut off from main roads. While some pockets of homes escaped the floodwaters, they remain isolated without reliable access to supplies. Animals displaced from surrounding flood-affected areas are also making their way into these communities, adding to the need for food and care. 

Local responders are also working through veterinary offices to get supplies to animals in isolated communities. IFAW and partners are exploring opportunities to include animal supplies within humanitarian relief deliveries, which in some areas are still being transported by air because road access has been lost.

A growing network responds for animals 

As needs become clearer, IFAW is expanding support for Nepalese organisations responding across affected communities. 

In addition to our work with Sneha’s Care, IFAW has awarded emergency support to the Nepal Animal Welfare and Environment Society (NAWES), which is working to ensure animals are considered within government and humanitarian relief efforts. 

IFAW is also working with Voice of Animal Nepal (VOAN), which joined Sneha’s Care during the initial assessment and is preparing for continued response efforts focused on providing food and veterinary treatment to animals in affected areas. We are also in contact with Animal Nepal, whose team is currently assessing needs in the field. 

VOAN’s field assessments show just how difficult conditions remain. Many surviving animals have been moved to safer areas, but with proper shelters unavailable, some are being housed beneath temporary tarpaulins. In places, floodwaters and mudslides have buried agricultural land beneath metres of sand, mud, and stones, leaving farm animals with little or no grass to eat. 

Families are doing what they can to provide surviving animals with food, water, and shelter while coping with devastating losses of their own. Animals separated from their owners or left without someone to care for them face even greater risks. Responders say the immediate priorities are nutritious food, clean water, veterinary treatment, safe temporary shelter, and continued monitoring. 

Together, these locally led organisations are helping build a clearer picture of animal needs across a disaster where access, geography, and the scale of destruction make any single organisation's response especially challenging.  

Including animals in disaster response plans 

Animal needs are not yet routinely integrated into disaster planning in Nepal, and many authorities and humanitarian responders have limited experience addressing animals during emergencies. IFAW support is helping local partners work to close that gap. 

Through NAWES’s engagement, the Nepal Red Cross is now aware of assessing animal needs as part of its outreach to affected communities, creating the potential for animal food and other assistance to be incorporated into future relief deliveries. 

Efforts are also underway to incorporate animal welfare questions into the official post-disaster needs assessment. If successful, this could help ensure the needs of animals and the people who depend on them are better understood as Nepal plans for longer-term recovery. 

Responding as needs evolve 

IFAW remains in close contact with partners across Nepal as access improves and needs evolve. The response is also putting preparedness work already underway in Nepal into practice, strengthening coordination among animal protection organisations, government authorities, and humanitarian responders. 

Recovery is expected to take time. As a clearer picture emerges, IFAW will continue working with local partners to determine where support can make the greatest difference for animals and the people who care for and depend on them. 

Catastrophic Nepal flood leaves communities and animals at risk

27 August 2026

A catastrophic flash flood has swept through communities along the Nepal–China border, leaving widespread destruction and an escalating humanitarian crisis. The disaster has affected areas on both sides of the border, while in Nepal, at least 160 people have been reported killed, hundreds remain missing, and the full scale of the disaster is still emerging. 

The flood has devastated settlements and critical infrastructure, destroying bridges and approximately 40 kilometers of roads and severely limiting access to some affected communities. Preliminary assessments indicate that an ice-and-rock avalanche high in the Himalayas may have triggered the catastrophic flooding, though scientists and authorities continue to investigate the exact cause. 

The impact on animals is not yet known. With entire settlements affected and access severely constrained, determining how many community animals—including pets, farm animals, and others—may be injured, displaced, stranded, or without access to food and care will take time. 

IFAW sends emergency support for rapid assessment 

Reaching affected communities remains a major challenge. Roads and bridges have been swept away, while muddy floodwaters carrying debris and potentially hazardous materials are creating dangerous conditions for rescue. Aerial assessments are underway as authorities and responders work to understand the extent of the destruction. 

IFAW will remain in close contact with Sneha’s Care and other local teams as the situation develops and is preparing for the possibility that additional support may be needed. 

Preparedness put to the test 

The emergency comes as IFAW and partners have been working to strengthen disaster resilience for animals in Nepal. 

Following an IFAW risk assessment and mapping project completed in 2025, we began a Nepal resilience project focused on building local capacity among animal protection organisations and government authorities. In July 2026, IFAW brought invited organisations and authorities together for a webinar focused on strengthening disaster resilience for animals in Nepal. 

Those relationships and preparedness efforts are now helping inform the response. IFAW is supporting remote assessments through established contacts in affected areas, while our team in China is gathering information from local and regional sources and contacts to help build a clearer cross-border picture of the disaster and emerging animal needs. 

IFAW has also notified its global network of animal disaster responders so additional expertise can be mobilised as needed.

Standing alongside local responders 

This is not the first time IFAW has responded alongside partners in Nepal. Following the catastrophic earthquakes of 2015, IFAW response teams worked with local organisations over six weeks to assist animals and communities. More recently, IFAW has provided emergency support to Sneha’s Care during crises affecting community animals and the people who care for them. 

Long-standing relationships and locally led capacity are especially important during disasters of this scale. Local organisations understand their communities, know the landscape, and can coordinate with authorities and other responders as needs emerge. 

As access improves and the scale of the disaster becomes clearer, IFAW, Sneha’s Care, and other local teams will continue assessing what animals and communities need and how best to support the response.