The United Nations stated Tuesday that Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods had killed more than 1,000 people, while thousands remain missing. The statement especially noted that women and girls face shortages of food, safe water, healthcare and protection in the wake of the disaster.

The UN provided an estimate of 4,247 people who remained unaccounted for as search-and-rescue operations continued. The disaster was triggered on August 26 by a glacier collapse and landslide near Nepal’s border with China, sending floodwater and debris through settlements and infrastructure along river corridors.

The disaster severely affected the mountainous districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading, destroying homes, roads, bridges, water systems and health facilities resulting in severe access constraints faced by humanitarian officials. The continuing monsoon rains, unstable slopes and blocked waterways have hampered rescue operations and left several remote communities difficult to reach.

UN Women estimated that 43,000 women and girls required immediate humanitarian assistance. Christine Arab, the agency’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, said women survivors were running out of food, losing access to safe water and confronting heightened protection risks. Nearly 160,000 women and girls in Rasuwa and Nuwakot had been directly or indirectly affected, according to an earlier UN Women assessment.

Arab warned that the floods had exacerbated pre-existing inequalities: women in affected communities already travelled long distances to collect water, and the destruction of roads, bridges and water systems had cut off supplies. Moreover, displacement and the absence of safe, separate sanitation facilities, lighting and privacy also increased exposure to gender-based violence, trafficking and exploitation. This also resulted in women-headed households facing particular pressure because male migration was common in the affected areas.

The World Health Organization also warned of possible secondary health emergencies. Flooding, overcrowding, displacement and stagnant water could increase the risk of dengue, scrub typhus and other communicable diseases. Additionally, UNICEF reported that at least 17,000 children had been affected and appealed for $17.2 million for emergency response and early recovery efforts.

Nepal is especially vulnerable to the adverse consequences of climate change induced disasters, despite producing negligible carbon emissions. Last year, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres had raised concerns surrounding the rapid melting of glaciers in the Himalayan region which has lost nearly a third of its glacial ice in the past 30 years.