Kathmandu: Rescue teams in Nepal have intensified searches for missing people as the death toll from last week's floods and landslides in Nepal and neighbouring China has passed 1,000.

Nepal's latest figures show that 987 people have died and 3,916 remain missing. At least 11,814 people have been rescued as teams reach remote communities that were cut off after the disaster on August 26.

China has reported 16 deaths and 546 people missing in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The combined death toll in the two countries has reached at least 1,003.

The rescue effort is now focused on several hydropower projects in Nepal, where hundreds of workers are still missing. At least 900 workers from 12 hydropower projects are reported to be unaccounted for, with about 500 believed to be trapped inside tunnels.

Nepal Army teams, supported by foreign experts, are working at several sites to clear mud, rocks and debris and reach people who may still be trapped.

The search has been complicated by extensive damage to roads and bridges and by the difficult mountain terrain. Temporary bridges are being built to improve access, while helicopters are being used to reach isolated communities and deliver emergency assistance.

Some electricity and communication services have been restored in affected areas. Road access to parts of Nuwakot has also improved, allowing rescue and relief teams to reach communities that had previously been cut off.

Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Gorkha are among the areas badly affected by the disaster. The flooding also caused severe damage along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors.

The disaster began on August 26 after a sudden surge of water and debris swept through the Himalayan valleys. Scientists studying satellite images have said the event appears to have involved the failure of rock beneath a glacier.

The rockfall registered as a magnitude 5.2 seismic event. However, authorities and international health agencies have stressed that the precise chain of events behind the flooding is still being assessed.

The World Health Organization has said the flooding in Rasuwa followed a sudden surge of water into the Bhote Koshi River from China's Tibet Autonomous Region, possibly linked to an upstream ice avalanche and temporary damming of the Lhende River.

The humanitarian response is continuing as authorities assess damage and provide assistance to affected families. Around 10,000 households have been identified as needing immediate relief, while damage to health facilities and transport infrastructure has made access to some communities difficult.

India and China are assisting Nepal's rescue efforts, while international organisations are providing emergency support and supplies.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah has called for greater international attention to the risks facing Himalayan communities. He has also highlighted climate related concerns, although the precise role of climate change in this particular disaster remains under scientific assessment.

For families of those still missing, the search remains the immediate priority. Rescue teams are continuing to work in isolated areas and at damaged hydropower projects as Nepal moves from the initial emergency response towards a wider recovery operation.