Harrowing videos and images from Nepal are causing angst and uncertainty for Yojan Gautam.
“I was like so shocked to see the massive flood, and later, I found out that one of my uncles there, he’s missing, and he was a hydropower engineer near the dam area,” Gautam, who is also with the PKP Tender Hearts Foundation, told News4.
Beyond Gautam’s uncle, his aunt and younger cousins have yet to be found, leading to the Nepal native and his family longing for an indication that their loved ones are safe.
“Trying to see if there was any chance close by that he could’ve run off too,” he said. “[…] I’m trying to do anything that I can from out here, but since there’s so little we can do, just hoping to do whatever we can.”
The latest update indicated the catastrophic flash floods and mudslides have led to at least 675 deaths.
Nearly 2,500 people remain missing within the country, and 100 of those unaccounted for are Americans.
At least five Americans have made it to safety who were in Nepal at the time of the mudslides.
According to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, more than 7,500 people have been rescued.
The tragedy started on Wednesday when a massive chunk of ice and rock larger than the Empire State Building broke off a mountaintop and led to the large amounts of flooding, according to geologists.
“Lost with words and seeing that actual video clips and so on, that just broke my heart,” said Prabha Deuja.
The Nepal native created the PKP Tender Hearts Foundation, a local group dedicated to service projects and donations for those in Nepal and across Northern Virginia and the D.C. area.
She said the group began raising money to help with rescue missions on the ground while discussing the challenges to get aid in.
“It’s been devastating because we’re not on the ground. We have no access to connect with who and what, and we’re hopeless,” she said. “[…] We cannot collect clothes or anything because the shipping is very high, so we need to get funding in order to hand it over to them.”
At least 10 Northern Virginia hikers who were visiting Nepal as a part of a group trip are unaccounted for as rescue teams work day and night to find those missing.
“Everybody is vulnerable,” Deuja said. “And in order to have that connection to each other, everybody needs the support.”
For those back at home, they’re leaning on each other hoping for a day that they can be reunited with those near and dear to their heart.
As for the foundation, it plans to host a vigil for those who are still accounted for along with their families at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday evening in Fairfax, Virginia, at the FC Government Center.
