Himalayan Economic Forum

Tracker · Cryosphere risk to energy assets

Himalayan Hydropower Hazard Tracker

This tracker follows the hydropower plants hit by glacier floods, rock-ice avalanches and extreme monsoon events across the Indian and Nepali Himalaya. It records each event, which plants were damaged, and where the published figures disagree. It opens with the Trishuli–Bhotekoshi corridor in Nepal, where the same plants were hit twice in fourteen months.

By
HEF Research
Edition
1
Coverage
7 events, 2013–2026
Data cut-off
Next update
as damage assessments are published

Headline figures

26 August 2026: key figures

12–15

Hydropower projects reported damaged

Count varies by source652

231 MW

Operating capacity damaged in both July 2025 and August 2026

Five plants on the same corridor92

NPR 25.87 bn

Insurance claims filed across 583 policies

As of 31 August 20264

<5%

Share of the estimated reconstruction cost that is insured

Against an estimate of US$4–5 bn5

Asset register · Trishuli–Bhotekoshi corridor, Rasuwa & Nuwakot, Nepal

Plants damaged, by event

A plant is marked as damaged only when a named source lists it for that event. The August 2026 column follows the list published by the Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN).

Hydropower plants on the Trishuli–Bhotekoshi corridor, their nameplate capacity and operating status, and whether a named source records damage to each in the 8 July 2025 glacial lake outburst flood and the 26 August 2026 ice-rock avalanche.
PlantCapacityStatus8 Jul 2025 GLOF26 Aug 2026 avalanche
RasuwagadhiRasuwa111 MWOperatingGates and headworks destroyed9Damaged; powerhouse and substation reported destroyed23
Upper Trishuli-3ANuwakot60 MWOperatingLost one gate9Damaged2
TrishuliNuwakot24 MWOperatingDamaged9Damaged2
ChilimeRasuwa22 MWOperatingDamaged9Damaged2
DevighatNuwakot14.1 MWOperatingDamaged9Damaged2
Sanjen KholaRasuwa78 MWOperatingNot on the July 2025 listDamaged2
Langtang KholaRasuwa20 MWOperatingNot on the July 2025 listDamaged2
Mailung KholaRasuwa5 MWOperatingNot on the July 2025 listDamaged2
Upper Trishuli-1Rasuwa216 MWUnder constructionDamaged910Damaged2
Rasuwa-BhotekoshiRasuwa120 MWUnder constructionNot on the July 2025 listDamaged2
Super TrishuliTrishuli river100 MWUnder constructionDamaged9Not on IPPAN's August 2026 list
Upper Trishuli-3BNuwakot37 MWUnder constructionDamaged9Damaged2
Middle Trishuli GangaNuwakot15.6 MWUnder constructionNot on the July 2025 listDamaged2
Upper Mailung-ARasuwa6.42 MWUnder constructionNot on the July 2025 listDamaged2

Showing 14 plants, 829.12 MW.

Capacities are as listed by IPPAN for the August 2026 event2, except Super Trishuli, which comes from the July 2025 list9. The July 2025 list gives Trishuli as 25.25 MW. IPPAN's August list also includes a 25 MW solar project and one operating project it does not name. Neither appears here.

Download data (CSV)

Event ledger · 2013–2026

Seven events that damaged Himalayan hydropower

Listed oldest first. Each figure carries its source number. Loss figures are shown as first reported and have not been adjusted.

  1. Uttarakhand extreme rainfall and floods

    Alaknanda basin, IndiaMonsoon floodIndia
    • Vishnuprayag (400 MW, Jaiprakash Power Ventures): barrage buried under debris. The company estimated losses at ₹40–50 crore and said the plant was insured13
    • Tapovan–Vishnugad (520 MW, under construction): diversion tunnel washed away13
    • Phata Byung (76 MW) and Singoli Bhatwari (99 MW) damaged. Dhauliganga (280 MW) powerhouse submerged, later recovered13

  2. Chamoli rock and ice avalanche

    Rishiganga and Dhauliganga valleys, Uttarakhand, IndiaRock-ice avalancheIndia
    • About 22 million m³ of material, mostly rock with some ice, broke away below Ronti peak14
    • Rishiganga (13.2 MW) damaged. The diversion dam of Tapovan–Vishnugad (520 MW, under construction) filled with debris, its second major hit since 201314
    • More than 70 people confirmed dead and 134 reported missing14
    • Developers' losses reported at about ₹1,625 crore15

  3. South Lhonak glacial lake outburst flood

    Teesta basin, Sikkim, IndiaGLOFIndia
    • A landslide of 14.7 million m³ of frozen sediment fell into the lake and released about 50 million m³ of water16
    • Teesta-III dam (1,200 MW, Chungthang) destroyed. Reported insurance claim about ₹50.84 bn, for a project that cost about ₹140 bn by 20171617
    • Teesta-V (510 MW, NHPC) knocked out. It returned to full capacity on 16 Jul 2026, about 2 years and 9 months later20
    • NHPC reported ₹233.56 crore of losses at the Teesta-VI project, then under construction18
    • The Science study reports 55 deaths and 74 people missing16

  4. Landslide at the Teesta-V powerhouse

    Sikkim, IndiaLandslideIndia
    • A landslide damaged the tail-race tunnel gate hoist structure and part of the GIS building while the plant was still under restoration after the 2023 flood19

  5. Nepal monsoon floods and landslides

    Multiple basins, NepalMonsoon floodNepal
    • 11 operating projects with 625.96 MW of capacity damaged. 15 projects under construction, with 1,010.29 MW, also affected21
    • The Energy Minister put energy-sector damage at about NPR 2.45 bn21

  6. Rasuwa transboundary glacial lake outburst flood

    Bhotekoshi–Trishuli corridor, Nepal (source lake in Gyirong, Tibet)GLOFTransboundaryNepal
    • The flood came from a supraglacial lake system at about 5,150 m, roughly 35 km upstream of the border in Tibet10
    • Five operating and three under-construction projects damaged. Officials put the generation lost at between 240 and 260 MW910
    • The Friendship Bridge at the Rasuwagadhi border crossing was destroyed10

  7. Langtang Lirung ice-rock avalanche and debris flow

    Bhotekoshi–Trishuli corridor, Nepal, and Gyirong, TibetRock-ice avalancheTransboundaryNepal
    • A slab of rock and glacier ice broke from the north face of Langtang Lirung at about 8:37 am and fell about 1,200 m. The USGS put the seismic signal at Ms 5.21
    • ICIMOD classifies the event as an ice-rock avalanche that became a debris flow, not a glacial lake outburst flood1
    • IPPAN lists 15 damaged projects with 753 MW: 10 operating (359 MW) and 5 under construction (394 MW)2
    • Early satellite analysis showed at least two hydroelectric schemes destroyed on the Bhote Kosi8
    • The confirmed alert came 28 minutes after the seismic signal. SMS warnings went to 679,000 people at 9:15–9:16 am, after the flood had reached the first settlements1
    • NPR 25.87 bn in insurance claims across 583 policies by 31 Aug4

Where sources disagree

Reported figures for August 2026

No official plant-by-plant record of the damage has been published. Until one is, the tracker shows the range and who reported each figure.

Measures of the 26 August 2026 event where published figures disagree, showing the reported range and which outlet reported each figure.
MeasureReported rangeWho reported what
Projects damaged12 – 1512 plants (Bloomberg, 2 Sep)6; 13 or more (Insurance Business Asia)5; 15 projects, 10 operating and 5 under construction (IPPAN, 26 Aug)2
Capacity affected405 – 753 MW405 MW hydro plus 25 MW solar (Urja Khabar, 26 Aug)3; Over 400 MW, about 10% of Nepal's capacity (Bloomberg, 2 Sep)6; 753 MW (IPPAN, 26 Aug)2
Deaths390+ – 1,200+More than 390, with more than 1,400 missing (ICIMOD, updated 23 Sep)1; More than 1,000, with about 4,500 missing (TIME, 1 Sep)7; Over 1,200 (Reuters, 4 Sep)4
Economic lossUS$0.85 – 8 bnNPR 130 bn, about US$850 m (Bloomberg)6; US$2.56 bn (Reuters)4; US$4–5 bn for reconstruction (Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle)5; US$8 bn in total damage (TIME)7

Protection gap

Most of the August 2026 loss is uninsured

Reconstruction estimate (low end)US$4.0 bn
Insurance claims filedUS$0.17 bn

Claims of NPR 25.87 bn converted at the US$171.13 m reported by Reuters4. Both bars use the same scale.

Engineering and contractor policies make up NPR 20.51 bn of the claims, the largest share5. These policies typically cover plants under construction. Insurers say hydropower along the affected corridor accounts for most of the claims, and a large share is expected to pass to international reinsurers54.

Nepal's Insurance Authority said it could not yet confirm cover for every operating project5.

Structural exposure

Regional exposure

105

Existing or planned hydropower projects in the Third Pole exposed to potential glacial lake outburst floods11

1.5 → 2.7

Average glacial lake outburst floods a year in the region, 1981–90 compared with 2011–2011

25

Potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the Tibet Autonomous Region, from an ICIMOD/UNDP inventory10

40+ GW

Hydropower already operating in the Himalayan region, with 200 GW more at some stage of planning6

~30 GW

Nepal's hydropower target for 2035, more than half of it meant for export6

3,983 MW

Nepal's installed generation capacity in Poush 2082 (December 2025 to January 2026)12

Method

Method

An event is included when a named source reports physical damage to a hydropower plant, operating or under construction, from a glacier, landslide or flood hazard in the Indian or Nepali Himalaya. A plant is marked as damaged only when a source names it. A general statement that plants in an area were damaged is not enough.

When sources disagree, the tracker shows the range and credits each figure. It does not average them. Currency figures are shown as each source reported them. The 231 MW figure is the combined capacity of the five operating plants named as damaged in both July 2025 and August 2026.

This edition covers events from 2013 onward and is not a complete record. Pakistan, Bhutan and the Chinese side of the border are not yet included.

Sources

Sources

  1. Kyirong–Rasuwa Flood 2026, ICIMOD, 28 Aug 2026, updated 23 Sep 2026
  2. 15 hydropower projects damaged by flood in Rasuwa and Nuwakot, Ratopati, 26 Aug 2026 (IPPAN data)
  3. Bhotekoshi flood devastates Rasuwa, hits 430MW power projects, Urja Khabar, 26 Aug 2026
  4. Nepal floods could cost insurers over $130 million even before death, injury claims, Reuters, published by Business Recorder, 4 Sep 2026
  5. Nepal glacier collapse puts hydropower insurance to the test, Insurance Business Asia, Sep 2026
  6. Fatal floods expose threats to hydropower in the roof of the world, Bloomberg, published by Insurance Journal, 2 Sep 2026
  7. In Nepal's tragedy, a warning for a warming world, TIME, 1 Sep 2026
  8. The 26 August 2026 catastrophic debris flow in Nepal and Tibet, Dave Petley, The Landslide Blog, Eos
  9. Rasuwa flood damages eight hydropower projects, 240 MW production halted, Khabarhub, 8 Jul 2025; see also Republica, Jul 2025 (260 MW power disconnected from national grid after Rasuwa flood)
  10. Investigating an emerging climate hazard: transboundary glacial floods on the China–Nepal border, Austin Lord, Stimson Center, updated 22 Jul 2025
  11. Enhanced glacial lake activity threatens numerous communities and infrastructure in the Third Pole, Zhang et al., Nature Communications, 12 Dec 2023
  12. Energy Statistics of Nepal, third edition, Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal, 2026
  13. Vishnuprayag hydel project suffers extensive damage, Down To Earth, 2013
  14. Understanding the Chamoli flood: cause, process, impacts, and context of rapid infrastructure development, ICIMOD, Mar 2021, updated May 2021
  15. NTPC's Tapovan-Vishnugad HPP after Chamoli disaster, SANDRP, 23 Aug 2021
  16. Study of the October 2023 Sikkim flood (Sattar et al., Science, 2025), Newcastle University, Jan 2025
  17. Eastern Himalayan hydropower risks locking in climate maladaptation, Mongabay India, 11 Feb 2026
  18. Teesta-III dam break: NHPC does a U-turn, admits loss and damage from GLOF, Carbon Copy
  19. Teesta dam's power station destroyed after major landslide in Sikkim, Business Standard, 20 Aug 2024
  20. NHPC restores Teesta-V hydropower plant to full 510MW capacity, International Water Power, Jul 2026
  21. Floods and landslides damage 11 hydropower projects generating 625.96 MW, The Kathmandu Post, 29 Sep 2024

Analysis: Same Valley, Twice: Himalayan hydropower is carrying glacier risk it has not priced