TEXAS — The latest update from the Nepal Disaster Authority reveals over 1,000 are dead and nearly 4,200 are missing because of the Nepal and Tibet flooding. Texas is home to the largest Nepalese community in the U.S., and now those expats are mobilizing to send aid.
“My heart just jumped down to the floor. I started calling my parents, close relatives, if they were safe or not,” said Drona Gautam, an adviser for the Nepalese Association of Houston.
Survivors who narrowly escaped described the destruction in a video captured as they were rescued by helicopter.
“It just took the buses, houses, people, everything,” said one survivor.
The devastation hits close to home for Southwest Houston members of the Nepalese community.
“We just want to say our condolences to the families and rest in peace to the people who have lost their lives,” Gautam said.
The association’s president, Gyanshor Shrestha, said he was in Nepal but he was miles away near the capital.
“When I see the breaking news on the TV, we start seeing all the dam breaking and the flash flood,” he said.
The Nepalese Association of Houston, a nonprofit founded in 2000, provides resources to up to 9,000 members in the Houston metro area, including over 200 lifetime members. They’re now collecting financial donations to send to their homeland.
“Hopefully we can, from the Houston side, we can help to recover and recoup that loss,” said Shrestha.
The association said it raised $200,000 for disaster relief following the 2015 Nepal earthquake that killed and injured thousands of people.
“We built around 10 schools,” said Madhukar Amatya, a past president of the association.
He said sending supplies created logistical and financial challenges, and so will the current muddy conditions. The association said, for now, financial relief will better help with on-the-ground relief efforts.
“Please open your heart and open your pocket,” Shrestha said.
Association members are urging the public to donate and spread the word.