KATHMANDU — Nepal's government formally ended active search operations in its worst flood-hit districts on Friday, with the confirmed death toll surpassing 1,200 and hundreds still unaccounted for. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority made the announcement in the capital.

The monsoon floods and landslides, which struck in late August, devastated districts across central and eastern Nepal, sweeping away homes, roads and bridges. Swollen rivers and blocked highways had made many remote villages inaccessible to rescue teams for days.

Thousands of survivors remained in temporary shelters without adequate clean water or sanitation, according to humanitarian agencies including the Nepal Red Cross Society. A spokesperson for the society warned that outbreaks of waterborne disease posed a serious threat in the coming weeks.

Home Ministry officials said the focus would now shift from rescue to relief and reconstruction, while acknowledging that many of the missing were unlikely to be found alive. The government appealed for international assistance to rebuild damaged infrastructure and resettle displaced families.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that more than 100,000 people had been displaced, describing the disaster as one of Nepal's deadliest in decades.