Floodwaters poured down deep mountain valleys and into Nepal’s valleys on Wednesday, devastating already fragile communities located along swollen rivers and home to many ethnic groups and farmers.
But at the same time, it shocked the world and left hundreds of foreigners missing. In homes across the United States, India, Canada and elsewhere, people are desperately waiting for news of their missing loved ones. They include a doctor from Delaware, a mother of two from New Zealand, and three teenagers from the United States and Australia.
The area is popular for tourism, trekking, and religious pilgrimages to temples and sacred sites revered by various faiths, and attracts many visitors from summer to early fall. It is also home to several foreign-backed hydroelectric projects.
Hundreds of people are also missing in neighboring China. The first strong landslide occurred on the border with Nepal, where the landslide hit China’s Gilong port, a major land border crossing.
Rescue efforts continued Thursday, with authorities yet to release the names of those confirmed dead or missing. But the scale of this tragedy is becoming clearer, with social media flooded with countless pleas for help from Nepali diaspora abroad.
Here’s what we know so far about those affected:
Ethnic groups and poor communities are hit hardest
The worst-affected communities in Nepal are located on the banks of the Trishuli River, which meanders through several districts such as Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading.
More than 500,000 people live in these districts, according to recent census data. They represent diverse ethnic groups such as Tamangs, Gurungs and Newars, some of whom have lived there for centuries.
Many people make a living from farming, but others turn to tourism, as outdoor activities such as trekking and rafting and religious tourism are becoming increasingly popular in the region. Every summer, hundreds of Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Bonpo pilgrims travel through the region on their way to Tibet’s sacred Mount Kailash.
But these communities are also extremely vulnerable. Districts like Rasuwa face historically high poverty rates, are on the front lines of the climate crisis, and are at risk of disasters such as forest fires and landslides.
After Nepal’s devastating 2015 earthquake that killed more than 8,000 people, many residents spent years rebuilding their lives. Hundreds of displaced families resettled on the low-lying banks of the Trishuli River faced an even more horrifying disaster on Wednesday.
Nepali family and diaspora
Families across Nepal, from medical workers to tour operators, are now desperately searching for news of their loved ones who were in the affected areas.
Asmita Dahal, who lives in the capital Kathmandu, told CNN that her family is “hoping for a miracle” for her missing brother, Suman Dahal, 21. Suman works with a tour group that guides pilgrims to Mount Kailash and was preparing to return to Kathmandu from Timure, a small town on the banks of the Trishuli River.
“We are worried that his bus may have been washed away by the flood, but we don’t know for sure,” Asmita said. The last words her brother said to her on Wednesday were “See you in the morning.”
The disaster is also reverberating among the Nepali diaspora around the world, which numbers more than 2.1 million people and is now scrambling to reach people thousands of miles away.
Pema D. Gurung, who runs a Nepalese restaurant in New York, said she doesn’t know if many of her friends in Rasuwa survived. “In my heart and mind, I hope that my friends are still alive,” Gurung told CNN. He was unable to contact them because the connection was cut off by the floods. His friends in Kathmandu are also unable to contact anyone in the area.
Rozina Dhungana, who lives in Ottawa, Canada, woke up on Wednesday to the news that her hometown on the banks of the Trishuli River had been washed away. Thankfully, her parents survived, but many of her former neighbors and classmates are missing.
On social media, she said, “Everyone I know – friends, relatives, community – was looking at me like, ‘Help, help, help, this person is missing!'”
According to the Nepal Tourism Board, at least 517 foreigners are missing in Nepal.
These included at least 178 Indians, many of whom were on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash. The tourism board said there were also 65 Americans, 53 Ukrainians, 51 Malaysians, 35 Australians, 33 British, 25 Canadians and a small number of people from more than 20 other countries.
Many of the missing were tourists, including teenagers. A 14-year-old American girl and two Australian boys, ages 12 and 14, were part of the missing tour group, the travel company said.
Radhika Sharma, an American, said her parents Ramesh Sharma and Neelam Sharma were also among those on the religious pilgrimage. Their tour company last contacted the group of pilgrims on Wednesday morning, after they arrived at the border with Tibet.
I have not heard from Mr. Sharma since then. It was the “worst 24 hours” of her life, she said Thursday.
According to South Korean officials, all nine South Koreans were workers sent to Nepal to work on a hydroelectric power plant under construction. Nepal has been pushing to tap into its vast hydropower potential in recent years, often with investment from regional partners such as China and India.
