Nepal communities left traumatised by floods, says expat
Claire Tamang says electricity is interrupted and food prices are rising as thousands of people remain missing.
Nepal communities left traumatised by floods, says expat
Claire Tamang, who moved to Nepal in 2010, said the aftermath of the flood has been "devastating"
A woman from Solihull who lives in Nepal said the destruction caused by landslides and flash floods on the Nepal-Tibet border is "almost impossible to comprehend".
At least 1,200 people have died and thousands more are still missing after a "glacial collapse" high in the Himalayas sent floodwater and debris surging through towns and villages.
Claire Tamang, who has lived in Kathmandu since 2010, said the disaster has left communities "traumatised".
The expat said goods moving into and out of the country have been disrupted, food prices have risen, and electricity has been interrupted because hydropower plants were destroyed in the floods.
Tamang, whose husband is Nepalese, described the flood as a fast-moving wall of mud, boulders and debris that raced down the valley.
She said entire settlements along one of Nepal's most important north-south corridors have been wiped out, with some towns "completely flattened".
"When the news first broke, all of us were hoping it was an AI-generated prank," Tamang said.
"A lot of our friends and family know people that are missing.
"We had an earthquake in 2015 which was just as devastating and a lot of us are feeling re-traumatised remembering [the] events and now looking at it happen all again.
"The images are almost unbelievable. It's absolutely devastating for a country that seems to go from one disaster to another."
Major transport routes that once brought goods into Kathmandu have been cut off, pushing food prices up and causing electricity supplies to falter after several hydropower plants were damaged.
The government said the relief effort is now fully under way, with the army coordinating it and civilians urged to stay away from affected zones.
Families are posting pictures on walls and social media of thousands of people who are missing
Tamang said the devastation reaches far beyond the original impact site.
"It descends all the way down, cutting across Nepal," she said.
"Some of the small towns next to the rivers are barely recognisable. You can't see a building standing anymore."
With more than 5,000 people still unaccounted for, social media in Nepal has filled with videos appealing for help in finding people.
Tamang said many families feared the worst, but some hope remained.
Early in the disaster, hundreds of people were rescued from hydro power plant tunnels near the border.
Relatives of the thousands of workers inside hydropower plants at the time believe some may still be sheltering underground or stranded in forested areas without communication.
Tamang said: "There's still reports of people out in the forest somewhere, unable to contact anyone.
"As the days go by, the number of missing keeps rising, but people are clinging to any hope."