Mita and Hemant Parikh, a Georgia couple, survived a devastating flood in Nepal while on a spiritual pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet. The flood occurred nearly a month ago and claimed the lives of 47 people from their group; seven guides are also missing. The Parikhs made an impromptu decision to visit Lhasa and Everest Base Camp before rejoining their group, which led them to safety while others were caught in the disaster. Their story highlights how a simple choice can mean life or death in such perilous conditions.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-23,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In late August 2026, flash floods caused by a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border devastated central and northern Nepal, leading to over 1,450 deaths as of September 20. The floodwaters swept away homes, vehicles, roads, bridges, and hydropower projects in multiple districts including Chitwan, Rasuwa, and Nawalparasi. With more than 6,000 people still missing, recovery efforts are hampered by severe damage to infrastructure and the decomposed state of many recovered bodies, complicating identification processes.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah has declared an early warning system for natural disasters as a top priority in Nepal, acknowledging that such systems could have saved lives. Meanwhile, international experts suggest climate change likely contributed to the instability of glaciers and permafrost, triggering the devastating avalanche that caused the floods. The disaster highlights the urgent need for global action on climate issues, with scientists noting that without faster transitions towards zero fossil fuel emissions, similar catastrophic events will become more frequent in the future.
Written for “Nepal Flood Disaster” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 18 other(s) covering the same event.
The people they were traveling with are not.
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they → travel → ?
Mita and Hemant Parikh were part of a group of 47 people on a long-planned spiritual pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet.
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Parikh → plan → Tibet
Nearly a month after the flood, the tour company that organized their trip tells CBS News Atlanta that none of the missing families from their group have been found either alive or deceased.
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none → organize → group
Seven guides are also missing.
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guides → miss → ?
All remain unaccounted for.
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All → remain → ?
For the Parikhs, the past month has been spent trying to understand how an ordinary decision — a side trip they almost didn't make — put them on a different road.
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they → spend → road
"That's what we talk to each other every single day," Mita said.
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Mita → talk → other
"Why did we decide this way?"
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we → decide → way
"Everybody has a bucket list, but this bucket list, you don't choose it," Mita said.
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Mita → have → it
"God chooses for you."
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God → choose → you
For Mita and Hemant, reaching it was an opportunity to find peace, meditate, and surrender themselves to their faith.
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reaching → reach → faith
They joined a group of 47 people and soon found themselves surrounded by families from around the world.
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themselves → join → world
Some had gotten to know one another through WhatsApp before the trip.
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Some → get → trip
Others met for the first time after arriving.
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Others → meet → time
Strangers became friends, ate together, prayed, and made plans together.
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Strangers → become → plans
Mita and Hemant said they had even made plans to continue traveling with some of their new friends after the pilgrimage was over.
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pilgrimage → say → friends
Then came an unexpected opportunity.
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opportunity → come → ?
With extra time built into their itinerary, Mita and Hemant decided to squeeze in a trip to Lhasa and Everest Base Camp before rejoining the rest of their group in Saga.
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Mita → build → Saga
It was not the kind of spontaneous decision they typically made.
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they → make → decision
"Usually we argue, or tickets are expensive — no, let's not go," Mita recalled.
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Mita → argue → ?
"But I don't know why we both agreed."
For Hemant, part of the appeal was simply getting close to a place he never expected to climb.
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he → know → place
"Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world," he said.
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he → say → world
"And I said, at least, I cannot climb, but I can go and see from a distance."
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I → say → distance
The couple traveled on with a guide and driver.
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couple → travel → guide
Despite forecasts of heavy snow, they said the weather cleared enough for them to see Everest.
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them → say → Everest
Afterward, they expected to meet their fellow pilgrims in Saga and continue the journey together.
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they → expect → journey
They never got the chance.
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They → get → chance
While the Parikhs were away from the group, a massive
the river valley where their fellow travelers were staying.
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travelers → stay → group
At first, Hemant said, the news did not sound perilous.
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news → say → ?
"Our guide said that, you know, there was a flood," he recalled.
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he → say → ?
"And so I thought … it's not a big deal.
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it → think → ?
They had no idea how bad it was.
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it → have → idea
When they checked it, they found repeated calls and messages from family and friends asking whether they were safe.
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they → check → family
The Parikhs initially thought the rest of their group had simply been delayed.
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rest → think → group
They had limited access to news and faced a language barrier as they tried to understand what was happening.
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what → have → barrier
They waited for the group they were supposed to meet.
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they → wait → group
It never arrived.
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It → arrive → ?
They tried calling their fellow travelers.
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They → call → travelers
No one answered.
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one → answer → ?
The couple said their tour operator eventually flew over the area by helicopter.
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operator → say → helicopter
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
