Nepal held a day of mourning on Monday to remember those killed in the Aug. 26 floods, with flags lowered at government offices and families concluding mourning rituals. Monday was the 13th day since the flood that killed more than 1,300 people in Nepal and Tibet and left about 5,000 missing, including foreigners, according to Nepal’s disaster management agency. In predominantly Hindu Nepal, mourning periods last 13 days, during which close family members stay at home and relatives visit to pay their respects. On the last day, rituals are held to pray for the souls of the deceased. Several people whose relatives are still missing held symbolic funerals. Cremation is an important final rite in Hindu tradition, and performing the ceremony even without the bodies of loved ones provided some families with a sense of spiritual liberation. The government had declared Monday an official day of mourning and ordered flags at government offices to be lowered to half-mast. Meanwhile, search efforts for the missing continued, but some protested that not enough was being done. Get the latest national news Get the latest Canadian news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you don’t miss any breaking news. In Kathmandu, relatives gathered near the offices of the prime minister and key ministries to demand the government speed up search and rescue efforts for hundreds of people who had been working at hydropower plants and were swept away by the raging Bhotekhoshi River or buried under rubble. 2:00 Canadians lend a hand as massive relief effort begins in Nepal Sumana Shrestha stood with members of her family holding a sign with a photo of her 55-year-old husband, who has not been heard from since the day of the flood. More about the world More videos Her husband, a consulting geologist, had promised to return home after his shift at the Trishuli hydropower plant project office on the day of the flood. The two-and-a-half-story office was completely buried by debris. “We are here because we have not heard of any rescue attempts on this project, but it has been 13 days now,” he said. “The only thing we have been able to do is pray to God and hope for a miracle.” Another protester, Mahesh Prasad Shrestha, held a photograph of his brother Niraj Shrestha, a 52-year-old engineer who worked at the same location. He said authorities only sent a small excavator by helicopter on the sixth or seventh day after the disaster, adding: “They should have ordered large helicopters from places like China or India to transport the equipment.” Candlelight vigils were held at various places in Kathmandu in memory of those who lost their lives during the floods. Rescue efforts have focused on 12 hydroelectric projects, where about 900 workers are missing and about 500 are believed trapped in several tunnels, authorities said. Specialized rescue teams from India, China, South Korea and the United States have been searching through rubble, damaged structures and tunnels in the projects. Two Nepalese workers were rescued from the plant on Friday, and rescuers pulled a Chinese man from the facility on Saturday. © 2026 The Canadian Press