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As the community scrambles to check on loved ones, some hear from family members who fled to safety, while others pray for good news
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World news — Henry Belot and Kat Wong
When Suman Shrestha opened his phone at work and saw vision of a thick, muddy wall of flood water smashing into towns in his country of birth, he almost did not believe what he was seeing.
“It was awful – I called my family to see if this was really happening and to see if the news reports were right,” says Shrestha, who moved to Australia from Kathmandu in 2017.
It wasn’t long until the truth hit home. Like many of the 210,000 people who were born in Nepal but now call Australia home, Shrestha has spent the last 24 hours scrambling to find out if his loved ones are safe.
“I can see that lots of my friends are missing,” says Shrestha, who now lives in Gosford. “We can’t get in contact with them because the communications have been cut off in that area.”
Nearly 1,500 people are missing and at least 165 have been killed in Nepal and Tibet by the flood, which was caused by an avalanche of ice and rock on Wednesday. At least 34 Australians have been reported missing in the area, including a child as young as 11.
Shrestha fears two friends who he grew up with in Nepal may now be dead. They were working as tour guides and were leading a group of tourists on a trek in the area devastated by the flood water.
“It’s hard,” Shrestha says. “One of them is my close friend’s brother. The other lived near my home in Nepal … I know them well.
“Their families know that they have been trekking in this area and now they cannot contact them,” he says. “They were in contact until 9am on Wednesday, Nepal time, now they can’t reach them.”
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Shrestha says their families in Nepal are constantly trying to contact the government for help, but there is little they can do.
“It’s hard for the government, as there is no proper way to reach them and no proper search can be done at the moment,” Shrestha says.
In Sydney, Sujan Tamang is growing increasingly worried about his uncle and aunt. He has not spoken to them since Wednesday. His sister, who works at a hydropower plant in Nepal, had to run from the flood water to safety. He says some of her colleagues are now dead.
When he first watched the footage from Nepal, Tamang could identify the buildings being swept away as if made of straw.
“When I saw that video, it was a very bad feeling,” said Tamang. “That house, that place, I know every place and I know every person. I have entered their houses, we have eaten together, slept together, we were like family.”
Vasan Srinivasan is also scrambling for answers.
The chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation Australia is searching for 15 Australians who travelled to Nepal on a pilgrimage organised by the Himalayan Glacier tour group. All but one are Sydney-based members of his religious group, Australia Bharatha Brahmin Samaj.
“I’ve been very busy using all my contacts, including Nepali community leaders here in Australia,” says Srinivasan, who has also called on Australian ministers for help.
“I am concerned about their wellbeing … Hopefully, God can give me the privilege to get them back to Sydney.”
Chiran Tiwari, the president of the Nepalese Australian Welfare Society, says it has been a chaotic and stressful time for members.
“They are trying to call whoever is in the nearest area that they are able to contact,” Tiwari says. “It is a very big disaster.”
As the Nepali community waits for the full scale of the disaster to become clear, more than 100 people gathered for a special prayer service at a Buddhist temple in Melbourne’s north-western suburbs.
The service’s host, the Australian Nepalese Multicultural Centre, said the community gathered “in prayer for those who have lost their lives, those who remain missing, the injured and all families affected by this disaster”.
Others who feel helpless have turned their attention to fundraising, including for the Nepali government’s disaster relief fund.
“At the moment, we are in the initial phase of our community campaign here in Victoria, trying to raise awareness and mobilise support for those affected by the disaster in Nepal,” said Prem Raj Upreti, the president of the Nepalese Association of Victoria.
On Thursday afternoon, Nepal’s T20 cricket team paused for a moment of silence before playing at Darwin’s Gardens Oval.
In a statement, the Northern Territory’s minister for multicultural affairs, Jinson Charls, said it was providing support to the players and team officials.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with our local Nepalese and Tibetan communities and will provide all support as necessary,” Charls said.
“It was awful – I called my family to see if this was really happening and to see if the news reports were right,” says Shrestha, who moved to Australia from Kathmandu in 2017.
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Henry Belot and Kat Wong. Published 27 Aug 2026, 03:00 pm.
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