Heartbreak in Nepal: Families Search Hospitals for Loved Ones After Catastrophic Border Floods Kill 180

KATMANDU: Anxious relatives crowded the corridors of a hospital in the capital on Thursday, desperately seeking information about missing family members after devastating floods along the Nepal-Tibet border killed at least 180 people.
Among those searching was Subash Khatani, who was reviewing lists and speaking with officials in the hope of finding news about his elder brother, one of hundreds who remain unaccounted for following the disaster.
“My elder brother, Ram Sharan Rasaili, is among those missing in Rasuwa. That is why we are out searching for him,” Khatani told AFP at the government-run Bir Hospital.
On Wednesday, a massive wall of water and mud swept through villages and towns along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers. Nepali police reported that they had recovered 177 bodies.
Rasuwa, located in northern Nepal, was the first district to be hit. However, fatalities were reported across seven districts as floodwaters surged more than 160 kilometers (100 miles) south to Chitwan, near the Indian border.
The exact cause of the disaster was not immediately known, though the US Geological Survey noted that a glacial collapse triggered seismic activity, resulting in “catastrophic” downstream impacts in both Nepal and Tibet.
Chitra Bahadur Nepali was searching for his nephew, Yubraj Sewak, a driver who had been traveling toward the heavily impacted Rasuwa district before losing contact with his family.
“My nephew was on his way to Rasuwa and was in contact with my sister until about 8:00 am yesterday,” said the 52-year-old Nepali, displaying a photograph of his nephew on his mobile phone.
“We have not heard from him since the flood. His name is not on any of the lists we have seen, and another member of our family is also missing.”
While rescue teams scoured flood-ravaged districts for survivors, families moved between hospitals and police helpdesks, desperately hoping for any word on their missing relatives.
Bir Hospital announced that it would provide free treatment to all victims and was “fully prepared” to manage the surge in patients, according to local media reports.
In Nepal, 823 people—including 579 tourists from both the country and abroad—remained out of contact, according to the national disaster management agency.
Across the border in Tibet, Chinese state media reported that the “mudslide disaster” had killed three people, while 558 individuals, including 260 foreigners, were listed as missing.

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