When floodwaters cascaded down deep mountain gorges and swept into a Nepali valley on Wednesday, it devastated already-vulnerable communities that sat along the swollen river, home to many ethnic groups and farmers.
But it also sent shockwaves across the world, with hundreds of foreign nationals unaccounted for. In households across the United States, India, Canada and more, people are desperately waiting for news of their missing loved ones – which include a doctor from Delaware, a New Zealand mother of two, and three young teenagers from the US and Australia.
The region is popular for tourism, trekking, and religious pilgrimage to temples and sacred sites revered across multiple faiths – all of which draw large numbers of visitors during summer and early fall. It’s also home to several foreign-backed hydropower projects.
Hundreds are also missing in neighboring China; the initial powerful landslide took place on its border with Nepal, with a mudslide then hitting China’s Gyirong Port, a major land border crossing.
Officials have not yet released names of those confirmed dead or still missing, as rescue efforts continue Thursday. But the scale of the tragedy is becoming clear, with social media filled with countless pleas for help – including from the Nepali diaspora overseas.
