Australian Nepali community to hold vigils as Nepal-Tibet flood death toll rises to 579

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.

Nepali authorities said on Friday that the death toll had risen to 579, with the number missing rising sharply to more than 1,900, after massive flash floods and landslides tore through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river basins on Wednesday.

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 – run by 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 seeking to locate their missing relatives.

“There’s no network, nothing at the moment,” he said. “This is a very tough time.”

Melbourne student Rakshya Pandey’s family home and two grocery shops in the Nuwakot district, hit by the flash flooding, have been destroyed. Her father, who was injured after being struck by an object in the flooding, is receiving treatment in a Kathmandu hospital.

“Whenever I see the detail of the people missing or the flood or everything, it’s just so scary, and I’m scared … I can’t do anything. I feel so helpless,” she said.

Pandey fears there will be future flooding in Nepal.

Ashok Bahadur Dhungel, who lives in Canberra, has been trying to reach his nephew who works for the Upper Trishuli hydropower plant, which sat on one of the Nepali rivers that flooded. He said his nephew has not been online for two days.

“We hope he is still alive,” he said.

Dhungel heard through friends that his mother, who lives in the Nuwakot district, had survived. But he has been unable to speak to her due to power outages.

“She is everything to me,” he said.

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 was 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.