On August 26, a catastrophic flash flood swept through northern Nepal, causing widespread destruction. People ran from walls of water and debris as the disaster struck. Many families spent the night on hillsides or in makeshift shelters, unable to reach loved ones or return home.
People affected by the flood said their most urgent needs include food, clothing, and basic hygiene supplies, according to mercycorps.org. In the town of Bidur, local markets are finding it difficult to source food, and access to electricity and clean water has been disrupted. Nepal is still in the middle of monsoon season, and more rainfall could worsen conditions overnight.
On September 1, Mercy Corps began delivering food kits to about 300 families, or around 1,500 people. The food kits include rice, oil, noodles, and other essential items to help families survive. Mercy Corps staff are working in the hardest-hit Nuwakot district, visiting emergency evacuation shelters and speaking directly with survivors.
The first distributions are only the beginning of aid efforts in the region. Scientists believe that the flood was triggered by collapse of glacier ice and rock. The Himalayas are warming, which is making glaciers and frozen ground change and become less stable.
Mercy Corps has worked in Nepal since 2005, helping communities prepare for disasters and adapt to climate risks. While adaptation helps reduce risk, it cannot prevent every disaster or eliminate the threat from sudden events like this one. More than 100 people have been pulled alive from rubble nearly a week after the floods hit Nepal, according to a report from The Sun.
Over 4,500 people are still missing after the catastrophic flash floods struck Nepal and neighboring Tibet. The death toll is expected to rise as rescuers continue searching for those still unaccounted for. Among the missing are 48 Brits, including 33 in Nepal and 15 in Tibet.
A British man was among those rescued, but he had not been trapped—he had come to help with the search efforts. A UK aid team arrived in Nepal and China to support British citizens and their families. The rescue team includes specially trained crisis response staff who are working with the British embassy and local authorities.
Only 20 people killed in the horror floods have been reunited with their families so far. The Nepalese government has asked for more freezers to be sent from abroad to store bodies. Authorities have warned that body bags are running dangerously low as recovery teams search along the Tibet border.
Among those still missing are several people with strong links to the UK, including an NHS nurse and a Hindu priest from south London who was leading a tour of the region when disaster struck. An 18-year-old from Surrey who had recently completed his A-levels is also feared missing. Pramod Poudel, a man from Uckfield, lost contact with his wife Sumitra during the disaster.
He believes she has been swept away and is now missing. Pramod trekked through the Himalayas in a desperate attempt to find his wife and other family members. He spoke of losing his mother, brother, uncle, and wife in the disaster.
He said, ‘Everyone has been swept away. Not only my family, but my friends too.’ He sent a message to his wife saying, ‘I’m coming to find you,’ but now has no hope. Army engineers have carried out a controlled explosion to reach trapped workers in a hydropower tunnel.
Chinese officials have warned of eight high-risk geological disaster points that could suffer from further flooding. There is confusion over the death toll, with China and Nepal giving separate figures. China has been accused of concealing information about the disaster.
Identifying victims has become difficult due to bodies being submerged for days and deteriorating badly. Nepal’s government has ordered DNA samples to be taken from every body that remains unidentified or unclaimed. With morgues filling quickly, authorities have also ordered unclaimed remains to be buried in mass graves.
A suburban Bartlett woman from Illinois is among those still missing after the floods, nbcchicago.com reported. Poonam Thakkar was traveling with a group of around 50 people from the company Himalayan Glacier. The entire group remains missing.
The travel company has posted updates on its Facebook page with pictures of the missing travelers. Most group members were staying at Hotel Kailash in Rasuwagadhi when the disaster struck. With every passing day, families are facing the reality that they may never see their loved ones again.
U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi has called on the Department of State to support search efforts and help account for missing people. He said a local team in Nepal is coordinating with authorities on the ground. At least 469 people have been killed and more than 1,000 are missing in the floods.
The U.S. embassy in Nepal had not responded as of Monday afternoon. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said about 85 Americans were still unaccounted for. Crisis Response International told NBC News that the flood wiped out entire cities.
The Nepal Red Cross said more than 90,000 people have been affected by the disaster.