Arabic version: أستراليون من أصول نيبالية وتبتية يترقبون أخبار الفيضانات

According to ABC News, Nepali and Tibetan Australians are anxiously seeking news of relatives and friends after a huge wave struck villages near the Nepal-Tibet border. At least 160 people were killed and hundreds, including 34 Australians, were missing. A glacier avalanche is believed likely to have caused the flood.

Tashi, a Tibetan woman living in Melbourne, said her nephew had escaped after leaving Gyirong County a week earlier to care for his mother. But his wife and daughter were missing. She said calls could not connect and communication with family through WeChat had been intermittent.

Melbourne University PhD student Tulsi Ram Gompo said his parents escaped, but his family home and farm in Nepal’s Nuwakot district were buried in mud. He said relatives had contacted him seeking information about dozens of people missing in his home town.

Sujan Tamang, from Goljung village in Nepal’s Rasuwa district, said relatives, a close friend and villagers remained missing. He said the lack of network access and electricity had made it difficult to contact people in the affected area.

Community figures described widespread shock and grief. Northern Territory Nepalese Association secretary Anupam Dhungana called the event a “black day for the Nepalese”, while Melbourne grocer Sanjay Manandhar said people were rallying to support each other and raise funds.