Australia’s Nepali community plan to host vigils to remember the victims of the Nepal-Tibet flood disaster to coincide with a day of mourning, as the number of people killed continues to rise.
As Australia’s Nepali diaspora wait for the full scale of the disaster to become clear, community members are desperately waiting to hear from missing relatives and friends.
Nepal police said on Friday that the death toll had risen to 469, with more than 1,300 people still missing, after massive flash floods and landslides tore through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river basins on Thursday.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, on Friday morning confirmed the number of Australians missing in the floods had increased to 39 as she unveiled a $5m support package.
Wong told the ABC that Australians who wished to donate could do so via the Emergency Action Alliance website – a group of Australian charities and humanitarian organisations.
Nepali Australians gathered for candlelight prayers on Thursday night and held a minute’s silence for those lost to the floods.
Dr Tilak Pokhrel, president of the Australian Nepalese Multicultural Centre (ANMC), said community organisations in Victoria would host a vigil when the Nepali government announced an upcoming national day of mourning.
“Community members just want to say we are with you for those who are affected,” he said.
“We want to have an event where we all can gather and show our solidarity to support them.
“Let’s work together, let’s pray together, and let’s go through this pain together.”
Pokhrel said the centre would extend its opening hours for the next few days so faith leaders could provide support.
“People are waiting for the news. They are checking the news every hour,” he said.
Chudamani Sapkota, the general secretary of Non-Resident Nepali Association, said its New South Wales branch would host a candlelight vigil on Saturday evening in Sydney.
“This is devastating news for all the Nepalese diaspora,” he said.
Sapkota said the organisation was trying to support Nepali Australians locate their missing relatives.
“There’s no network, nothing at the moment,” he said. “This is a very tough time.”
Tenzin Khangsar, co-chair of the Australia Tibet Council, said the Tibetan community was “shocked and devastated” about the flooding. He said prayer events would be planned to commemorate the victims.
Diaspora community organisations are also crowdfunding for the Nepali government’s disaster relief fund.
Chiran Tiwari, president of the Nepalese Welfare Society based in Sydney, said the organisation had created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the Nepali Prime Minister’s Natural Disaster Relief Fund.
Tiwari said one of the welfare society’s executive member’s relatives were missing in Nepal, with the community rallying around to provide support to them.
“The situation is very sad for the community,” he said. “Everyone’s eyes is tearing so the situation is very difficult.”
On Thursday night, the ANMC hosted a candlelight multi-faith prayer night in Melbourne for people grieving the disaster.
