At least 29 Canadian citizens and permanent residents are still missing after devastating flooding and mudslides in Nepal killed more than 1,250 people and left around 4,200 others unaccounted for.
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flooding → miss → others
Consular officials in Ottawa said two Canadians have been confirmed to be safe and were not in the afflicted region when a catastrophic glacial collapse triggered last week’s massive flooding that tore through the Himalayan border between Nepal and Tibet.
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that → say → Nepal
Communication outages in the mountainous area had prevented the individuals from contacting their families, but they were able to get in touch as power is being gradually restored, Canadian government officials noted at a technical briefing Thursday.
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officials → prevent → briefing
A team of 10 officials, including consular staff and at least one member of the RCMP, are now in Nepal.
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team → include → Nepal
Much of their work is focused on helping local search and rescue operations with DNA analysis for Canadian identification purposes, said senior Ottawa officials, speaking to reporters on background on a conference call.
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officials → focus → call
Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said that around 12,000 people, at least 300 of whom are foreign nationals, have been rescued so far since the disaster struck on Aug. 26.
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disaster → say → Aug.
However, a total of 583 visitors from around 40 countries are still missing as of Thursday, the Nepali government noted.
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government → miss → Thursday
Many religious pilgrims and trekkers had travelled to the remote region before the torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris cascaded downriver, sweeping through bridges and vehicles and pulverizing thousands of buildings and homes.
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torrent → travel → buildings
More than 9,300 Nepali army troops have been on the ground to lead search efforts, clearing blocked roads, providing medical treatment and helping to manage the growing number of bodies that have been recovered.
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that → lead → bodies
Nepal’s department of hydrology and meteorology is warning that forecasted rain and thunderstorms through this weekend are likely to cause further flooding events, landslides and travel disruptions.
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rain → warn → events
China has put the death toll on the Tibetan side at 21, with 541 people listed as missing.
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people → put → 21
Both China and Nepal have said the floods were a result of climate change, with global emissions warming the Himalayas faster than many other parts of the world.
“We anticipate that the resources required for rebuilding will be substantial,” Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said in Kathmandu Thursday.
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Khanal → say → Kathmandu
“Nepal contributes a negligible share of global emissions, yet our people bear a disproportionate burden of the impacts.”
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people → contribute → impacts
Rescue efforts stepped up at a tunnel in Nepal's Rasuwa district on Wednesday, a week after a glacier collapse in the Himalayas unleashed deadly flash floods.
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collapse → step → floods
Ottawa has allocated $5-million for emergency relief and humanitarian assistance toward the catastrophe through non-governmental organizations such as the Red Cross.
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Ottawa → allocate → Cross
Earlier this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Canada’s priority is to “locate Canadians and permanent residents and confirm their safety, while offering support wherever and whenever possible.”
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priority → say → support
Prior to the flooding, Ms. Anand said that at least 866 Canadians were registered as visitors in Nepal by Global Affairs Canada.
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Canadians → say → Canada
Consular officials said Thursday that families of the 29 missing Canadians have been kept updated, with each family having a direct line of communication with Ottawa.
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family → say → Ottawa
Citing privacy concerns, the officials declined to say what province or region of Canada the missing individuals were from or whether they had been travelling with any specific pilgrimage and tourist groups in Nepal.
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they → cite → Nepal
They cautioned that the number of people reported missing and deceased are likely to change because the situation remains volatile.
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situation → caution → people
Still, to the best of their knowledge, Canadian officials believe each of the 29 people missing were in the area directly affected by the flooding, unlike the two Canadians who have been recently found safe in nearby Nepali villages.
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who → believe → villages
Families around the world have resorted to posting public appeals on social media for their loved ones, sharing contact numbers for hospitals, scouring any available lists of victims, searching for ways to geolocate mobile phones and even trying to hire private helicopter services.
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Families → resort → services
Her brother-in-law Ishan Patel was in Nepal last week, travelling with his wife Akanksha, mother Shilpa and father-in-law Umeshkumar.
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brother → travel → Umeshkumar
All four Canadian citizens, who live in the United States, remain missing.
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who → live → States
“It was Ishan’s birthday while all of this happened.
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all → happen → this
It was supposed to be a happy day, with my father, Umesh, and my sister, Akanksha, with the family there for the trip of a lifetime,” Ms. Patel said by phone Thursday from their home in Virginia.
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Patel → suppose → Virginia
“I’m trying my best not to talk about anything in the past tense because we don’t know anything yet,” she said.
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she → try → anything
“All we can do – the rest of our family, cousins, friends, everyone here – is wait.
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we → do → family
We’ll keep waiting for any answers, any at all, and just hope and pray that they are safe.”
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they → keep → answers
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