Nepalese man awaits friends update after floods
Ashutosh Lamichhane, who lives in Guernsey, says he is "still waiting" to hear from people he knows.
A Nepalese restaurant owner is awaiting updates from friends after severe flash flooding, which he described as feeling like it "came out of nowhere." Ashutosh Lamichhane, who operates the Lost Yeti Kitchen and Bar in St Peter Port, Guernsey, previously worked as a river raft guide on the Bhote Koshi river along the Nepal-Tibet border, the site of the floods on August 26.
Nearly 4,000 individuals, including 639 hydropower workers, remain unaccounted for, with at least 939 confirmed fatalities. Lamichhane expressed relief that "luckily and thankfully" his immediate family is "OK" and highlighted the crucial support he has received from the island's community during this challenging period.
Lamichhane was at work when he first learned of the flooding. He received numerous messages from friends and family, but upon seeing the news and videos, he found it "like from a movie" and "couldn't really believe" what he witnessed. He recounted, "First instance, your mind doesn't really believe it, the devastation of mother nature. Trying to connect to family and friends, that's the only thing you can think of." He added, "Luckily, and thankfully, all of my immediate family are OK." He has attempted to "check with friends he used to work with at the camp but it "looks like some of them are not there."
Jersey Overseas Aid has allocated £200,000 in emergency funding to the British Red Cross on behalf of the people of Jersey to aid humanitarian relief and recovery efforts.
Lamichhane previously resided directly beside the river in what he characterized as a "highly populated, very lively area" with many tourists, close to the capital city of Kathmandu. He noted, "It used to flood, but nothing to this level. This is why it feels like a movie, the volume of water that has come from nowhere." He stated that friends he has managed to contact are solely "focussed on finding the missing people."
"Everybody is shocked, only thinking about the missing ones," he said. "Nepal has had a number of national disasters, like the earthquake and the floods, we have always built back. I have no doubt, we'll build it back together in no time."