NEW DELHI: As devastating floods continue to batter Nepal, anxiety has spread far beyond the affected areas, with families in Delhi and across the world turning to social media to trace missing relatives and friends amid limited official updates.
In Delhi, the Nepalese Students’ Association at Delhi University has gone on alert, particularly as several of its members have roots in western Nepal, among the regions severely affected by the floods. The association has been trying to contact students and their families and has also appealed to people in the capital to come forward if they need assistance.
“We have been on alert since last evening. We have tried to contact almost all the students associated with our group, but most of them are from West Nepal and their families have not been affected. We are spreading the word around. We have asked the students if any of their families are affected or if anyone needs assistance,” said Lavanya, president of the Nepali Students’ Association in Delhi.
For students living thousands of kilometres away from their families, the uncertainty has been particularly difficult. One DU student said her parents were safe outside the affected area, but her uncle, aunt and cousins living in a flood-hit region could not be contacted.
“It is a difficult situation for all of us to handle while we are staying so far off,” the student said.
Across social media platforms, several “lost and found” pages have emerged, with families posting photographs, names and last-known locations of missing people in the hope that someone on the ground can provide information.
Radhika Sharma posted on X that her parents, Ramesh and Neelam Sharma, both US citizens, were missing after the floods near the Nepal-Tibet/China border.
Another urgent appeal sought information about siblings Prahwal Thapa and Pranisha Thapa, who had travelled to the Rasuwa area.
The X post read, “Another such post on X read, “Urgent notice- my son Prahwal Thapa and daughter Pranisha Thapa went to Rasuwa area, the family is extremely worried about their condition. If you have seen them, met them or have any information about their whereabouts, please immediately contact us at the numbers..”
The father also wrote in the post-, “Baby children, your family is waiting for you. Get in touch.- Sunkanchi Gauchan and Naresh Thapa.”
In another case, a Kolkata woman who had travelled alone on a Mansarovar yatra has gone missing, leaving her son hoping for her safe return.
Meanwhile, the Delhi-based Hemkunt Foundation has offered to send relief material to Nepal and urged the government to allow it to travel to the affected areas and assist those in need.