Oct. 23, 2026 — This updates our Oct. 9 report. More than 1,500 people were killed and 5,600 remain missing after the Aug. 26 glacier collapse and flood in Nepal, the head of the UN Office for Project Services, Jorge Moreira da Silva, told reporters, UN News reported. About 100,000 people were affected; more than 100 bridges collapsed, and 13 hydropower dams and 23 schools were destroyed. Recovery needs are estimated at $4.8 billion, about 10% of Nepal's GDP, and a $50 million flash appeal has raised $24.5 million.
Oct. 23, 2026 — A patient in France has died after infection with Shamonda virus, the first recorded human case, UN News reported Oct. 22. The virus mainly circulates in livestock and is thought to spread through the bites of midges. The patient, who died in early October, was immunocompromised, the French health and agriculture ministries said. He had been in an area where the virus circulated among animals, WHO said. French authorities said no risk to the general public had been identified, and WHO is working with them to establish how he was infected.
Oct. 23, 2026 — This updates our Oct. 21 report. The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached an eighth province, Nord Ubangi, which borders the Central African Republic, UN News reported Oct. 22. The outbreak has recorded 9,552 confirmed infections and more than 4,600 deaths. WHO is reconstructing the travel of Nigeria's patient, who arrived from Uganda, and said more than 40 close contacts have been identified. Kenya has reported nine cases, including one death, and says it has traced 135 contacts of the patient who died.
Oct. 23, 2026 — Public schools and executive branch offices in the U.S. Virgin Islands' St. Thomas–St. John District closed Oct. 23 because of power interruptions caused by reduced generating capacity at the Randolph Harley Power Plant on St. Thomas, the governor's office said. On Oct. 23, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said he had sent the Legislature a $250 million bond proposal, with $40 million for the Water and Power Authority, $40 million for the Waste Management Authority, $85 million for the territory's two hospitals and $30 million for tax refunds and back wages. It needs legislative approval.