'I Am Just Praying': UAE's Nepalese Expats In Shock After Floods Wreak Havoc Back Home

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) [ Editor's Note: For the latest updates on the deadly flash flood along the Nepal-Tibet border, follow the Khaleej Times live blog. ]

Dubai resident Poornima spent Wednesday night unable to sleep. The Nepalese expat's family, including her brother, children and grandchildren, were evacuated out of their hometown in Chitwan amidst the devastating floods that hit the country's border area with Tibet. Her brother was amongst those who were doing relief work.

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“Luckily, my family got enough time to evacuate,” she told Khaleej Times.“My brother has been involved with the relief work, and he said he has helped to recover several people. Some have been just body parts because of the force with which the flood hit. The internet connection is really bad because of the extensive damage, so I wasn't able to speak to him for more than a few minutes. I am just praying for the safety of my country and my people right now.”

She said that she has been obsessively following the news and watching videos people are posting on social media.“The area has been flood prone for several years and there was some indication that there would be flooding,” she said.“But the scale of the flooding was nothing we have ever seen before. We can see four and five-storey buildings as well as bridges just collapsing under the pressure of the water. It will be weeks before we know the real impact of these floods."

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It was on Wednesday morning that flash floods and landslides hit both Nepal and Tibet. The torrents of water and debris crashing downstream swept away entire villages. In Nepal, a surge of water hit villages and towns on the path of two rivers - Bhote Koshi and Trishuli. According to AFP, rescue teams are rushing to find more than 1,000 people missing on the border. China also reported a landslide, saying a border hub between Tibet and Nepal had been hit by a surge of debris.

It is still not clear what caused the floods, but it appears linked to a collapsed glacier.

Shocked and saddened

Another Dubai resident Lakshmi Thapa said she was in constant contact with her family who have friends from the area.“My daughter's friends are from the area and they have all evacuated,” she said.“But people there are having to make heartbreaking choices. One of their neighbours had an aged relative who is 100 years old. They had to make the difficult choice of leaving her behind when evacuating because it was so difficult for her.”

She added that the Nepalese community in the UAE have been plunged into shock.“All of us are calling and checking on each other,” she said.“It is truly so shocking and saddening.”

Another Nepalese expat, Humkala Neupane, has been living in the UAE for three years and said the incident took place just hours away from her home and was shocking.“I live in Kapil Vast, Chandrota which is about seven hours away, and whenever we land at Kathmandu Airport, we have to cross the very area where these floods have happened,” she said.“I was shocked to see the videos on social media. Thankfully, my relatives, who live a little farther away from the affected area, were not impacted. I have witnessed smaller incidents before, but I have never seen anything of this scale in my country.”

Plans impacted

Kalpana Khati, a homemaker and a resident of Al Nahda in Sharjah said that the floods had left her husband stranded in Nepal.“My husband travelled to Nepal on August 20 for some documentation work and was supposed to return to the UAE on August 28,” she said.“He was in Tulsipur and had planned to travel to Kathmandu to catch his flight, but the roads towards Kathmandu are blocked because of the floods. He will now completely change his journey and is travelling by road to Delhi instead. He is now planning to fly back to Dubai on August 29.”

She said she didn't initially realize the scale of flooding.“When I learnt that the roads were blocked and my husband could not travel to Kathmandu as planned, I became worried,” she said.“Tulsipur is more than 400km from Kathmandu by road, and it would normally take him around seven hours to reach the capital. Now, because of the situation, he has had to completely change his travel plans and find another way to return to the UAE.”

[With inputs from Nandini Sircar]

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