Dharamshala — The devastating floods struck Kyirong County and Rasuwa District suddenly and without warning on August 26, 2026. While the human toll in Nepal rises daily, Chinese state media reported an increase in the death count from three to sixteen as of yesterday. How is this possible? Yet, early videos showed hundreds of people being swept away by the flood at the Kyirong port and in other areas in Kyirong. This is their way of concealing the truth by preventing international journalists, scientists, and independent researchers from investigating the real causes of these deadly floods—just as China did during the Dingri earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic.
To date, these catastrophic floods have claimed the lives of 903 people and left more than 4,000 others missing on the Nepalese side; meanwhile, Chinese state media reported 16 confirmed deaths and 546 people affected as of August 30, 2026. However, these figures are hard to believe: while videos initially circulating on Chinese social media showed numerous people and homes struck by the devastating floods, Chinese authorities subsequently removed images of the disaster and calls for help from Tibet, with state media focusing exclusively on rescue teams.
However, the reality is cruel, and it is impossible to reveal the true situation in Tibet. On the evening of the flood (August 26), a Tibetan woman living in Nepal called her relatives in Kyirong District to check on them; what she learned broke her heart. A relative explained that the situation was dire: a family member had gone to the site to identify a loved one who had died in the flood, but upon seeing the body, he suffered a heart attack and died instantly. Subsequently, Chinese authorities forbade families from identifying the missing, instead having the victims' bodies immediately buried or removed.
She added: “Hundreds of bodies have arrived in Kyirong from the port and flooded areas, but we are not allowed to identify our relatives. Many of them work in and around the ports.” (This conversation took place before the internet was censored in Tibet by Chinese athorities.)
This is proof that China is lying to the entire world by censoring the Internet and international journalists, and by preventing local Tibetans from revealing the true situation. A Tibetan woman from Kyirong told Chinese state media that the floods reached them on August 27, 2026; however, this is inaccurate: the waters had already reached Kyirong on the morning of August 26, 2026, even before arriving in Rasuwa, Nepal.
By baning international journalists and scientists from visiting the site makes it impossible to determine the true cause of these devastating floods: is the phenomenon linked to glaciers or to dams built by China? Regardless of the origin, China bears responsibility, as it constructs dams, railways, tunnels, and roads there for military purposes, while engaging in activities that accelerate global warming and glacial melting—thereby triggering floods and landslides in Tibet and in neighboring countries such as Nepal and India.
"China has aggressively expanded its infrastructure in Tibet (often called "Asia's Water Tower"), with at least 193 hydropower dams built or planned across the region since 2000. These dams span major transboundary river systems, including the upper reaches of the Yangtze, Mekong (Lancang), and Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsangpo) rivers," according to the International Campaign for Tibet.
However, when China builds railway lines, it does not merely construct railway infrastructure; it also conducts mining operations. For instance, during the construction of the Sichuan-Tibet railway line, China severely damaged the environment and stripped the mountains of their mineral resources by excavating hundreds of tunnels.
China is also building a trans-Himalayan railway line; the section connecting Lhasa to Kyirong is already complete, and construction of the section linking Kyirong to Kathmandu is set to follow. This project involves tunneling through the fragile Himalayan mountains, which risks triggering further disasters, such as the devastating floods that claimed thousands of lives in Tibet and Nepal.
China claiming that there is neither a dam nor a hydroelectric project in Kyirong; however, reports indicate that hundreds of people are stranded at hydroelectric construction sites located between Tibet and the Nepalese border, and that rescue operations are underway to locate more than 900 workers reported missing at these sites.
China has claimed that there are no dams in the Kyirong district; however, Chinese state media clearly indicate the existence—since 2013—of the Kyirong Port hydroelectric power station on the Kyirong Tsangpo River. Consequently, the assertion that "there are no dams on the river upstream of Kyirong Port" is factually incorrect. Furthermore, following the 2015 Nepal earthquake, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Water Resources reported the formation of a landslide-dammed lake located approximately 11 kilometers downstream from the town of Kyirong; Kyirong Port lies just 3 kilometers downstream of this lake. At the time, local residents, border defense troops, and customs personnel were instructed to prepare for evacuation and to take safety measures.
Chinese authorities announced today (August 31) that they had taken action and imposed penalty on ten internet users—as part of so-called the "Clean intenet" campaign—for commenting on the flooding at the Kyirong port in Tibet; two other internet users had already been punished on August 26, 2026, according to the China state media (CCTV). This is how China conceals the truth—not only from the people of Tibet and China but also from the rest of the world. One internet user commented, "1,400 people have been affected and over 3,000 people lost their contacts," while another claimed, "Chinese police have confirmed the deaths of 3,000 people." One user commented, "Thousands of people perished in Kyirong," and another wrote, "More than a thousand lives were lost, yet the authorities announced only three."
The Chinese government conceals everything happening in Tibet: protests, detentions, arrests, imprisonments, environmental destruction, illegal mining activities, the closure of Tibetan schools, the arrest of intellectuals and teachers. They also prohibited Tibetan children young as four-year old from learning their language, culture and forcibly placed in Chinese boarding schools. The authorities further destroyed monasteries, Buddha statues, and stupas, not to mention the ban on young Tibetans becoming monks. The Chinese government is doing everything in its power to eradicate Tibetan identity and religion.
To protest against these oppressive policies in Tibet, a Tibetan independence activist Lobga Rangzen self-immolated in front of UN headquarters in New York, on July 2,2026, to denounce the repressive laws and assimilation policies implemented by China in Tibet, particularly the “Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress”; and demanded freedom and retore independence for Tibet. He became the 171 known Tibetans have set themselves on fire to demand freedom for Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
As long as China conceals the truth, people will suffer and die; Tibetans constantly repeat, "China lies, people die"—that is the reality. The world is now becoming aware of how the Chinese regime operates and of its expansionism, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. While the official death toll from the virus stands at around 7.1 million worldwide, the actual excess mortality is estimated to be far higher—between 18.5 and 35.2 million deaths—because China obscured the truth and prevented international scientists and independent researchers from traveling to Wuhan to determine the virus's origin.
