Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) is deeply saddened by the devastating flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border on 26 August 2026, which have caused tragic loss of life, left many people missing or displaced, and severely damaged homes, workplaces, roads, and essential services. Our hearts go out to the victims and affected communities. This is an extremely difficult time, marked not only by the loss of lives but also by the immense challenge of rebuilding homes, livelihoods, and communities.

BWI joins its Nepali affiliates, ANCWU, CAWUN and CUPPEC in calling on the Government of Nepal to mobilise all available resources and state machinery for urgent rescue, relief and recovery efforts. We also urge the international community to stand in solidarity with the people of Nepal and Tibet and provide immediate humanitarian assistance and long-term support for recovery and climate resilience.

Preliminary scientific assessments indicate that an ice-rock avalanche associated with a glacier collapse triggered the floods, with the resulting debris and water surging through downstream river systems. The scale and devastation of the disaster, however, reflect a broader convergence of risks in the Himalayan region, including extreme rainfall, glacier and permafrost instability, landslides, and the exposure of communities and critical infrastructure in steep mountain valleys. Climate change is compounding these risks by accelerating glacier loss, altering precipitation patterns, and destabilising high-altitude environments. Nepal contributes less than 0.1 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet faces some of the gravest consequences of a warming planet. This is climate injustice.

The tragedy underscores why climate action can no longer be treated merely as a campaign or long-term aspiration. It must be an urgent and collective response to an existential crisis confronting humanity. Governments must act decisively to cut emissions, strengthen disaster preparedness and climate adaptation, and provide adequate finance for loss and damage and resilient reconstruction. Those least responsible for the climate crisis must not be left to bear its highest costs.

BWI stands firmly with all the affected working people, families and communities during this difficult time. Protecting human life and dignity must remain the highest priority.