As the death toll rises following last week’s flash floods in central Nepal, the Nepalese community in the Maritimes is waiting anxiously to hear from friends and family members.
The combined death toll in Nepal and China surpassed 900, with more than 4,700 people still missing.
The Nepalese Society of Nova Scotia gathered over the weekend in downtown Halifax to light candles and mourn the lives lost in the catastrophic flash floods.
“We do have a number of Nepalese community [members] who have had their immediate family members or their community members still missing,” said Aayush Shrestha, who belongs to the society.
The society’s vice-president, Abilasha Niraula, says the images have been devastating.
“It felt like AI when I first saw [the videos] because there was no possible way the flood could be that big, but it was true. And later on, I found out that the place I used to work on was an affected district and people I know were affected. It made it very personal to me.” Story continues below advertisement
For Sujit Acharya, who owns MomoNepal, there’s concern that the glacial collapse that triggered last Wednesday’s flash flood is a warning sign that more people will soon be at risk.
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“I would like to say it is not a natural disaster. It is a human, manmade disaster. And we all are equally responsible for it, every single person living on this planet. Our country, and also India, is sitting just below that huge, huge mountain of ice,” he said.
“And then when it starts melting because of the temperature rise, it’s going to take everything away.”
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He and other members of the community are raising money for the government of Nepal Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund.
Acharya has started a GoFundMe campaign for Nova Scotians who want to donate money.
For long-term assistance, however, he says humanity needs to take immediate action on climate issues.
“[We need to] think about the climate crisis whenever we try to do any purchases or involve in certain kind of activities,” he said. Story continues below advertisement
Shrestha echoes that sentiment and encourages Canadians to share their expertise.
“Canada has one of the best flood detection programs; such technical assistance would be super helpful to Nepal.”