Prayers and aid for Nepal after floods kill hundreds and leave thousands missing

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said that remains of 903 people have been recovered across several flood-affected districts, while approximately 4,247 people remain unaccounted for.

Churches across Asia pledged solidarity with the people of Nepal after devastating floods that claimed hundreds of lives.

By Monday the Nepalese authorities had reported more than 900 deaths while 4,200 people were still missing after a glacial lake outburst on 26 August caused a sudden flood in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, in Nepal’s Rasuwa district bordering Tibet.

The floodwater brought a torrent of debris downstream, burying homes, sweeping away bridges and causing widespread damage.

Pope Leo sent a telegram the following day, offering condolences for the victims and prayers for those engaged in rescue efforts, and repeated this message in his address after the Angelus on Sunday.

“May the concern of everyone help to alleviate the suffering and provide the necessary aid to the people affected,” he said, after the Dicastery for the Service of Charity had sent financial aid to support Caritas Nepal’s relief efforts.

Fr Silas Bogati, the apostolic administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Nepal, told Agenzia Fides that the Pope’s appeal “has deeply touched and moved” the small Catholic community, which numbers around 10,000 people.

India’s Catholic bishops also expressed sorrow and solidarity with the people of Nepal.

The Archbishop of Hyderabad Cardinal Anthony Poola, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), said in a message: “We share in your grief and entrust the departed souls to the mercy of God.”

The CBCI invited the faithful, parishes, religious communities and institutions across India to remember victims, bereaved families and the people of Nepal during Sunday Mass on 30 August.

“This tragedy does not recognise borders. Nepali villagers, Chinese labourers and Indians have all perished together … Our grief, and our prayers, extend to every family touched by this calamity, regardless of nationality or faith,” said A Chinnappan, national president of the All India Catholic Union.

On Monday, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said that remains of 903 people have been recovered across several flood-affected districts, while approximately 4,247 people remain unaccounted for.

“Among those missing are local residents, pilgrims and tourists,” Fr Bogati told Fides. “We fear that some Catholics who were working in these areas may also have been swept away by the floodwaters. No Catholic church has been affected by the flooding.”

The government reported that 267 people have been injured, of whom 156 have been discharged following treatment. Six specialised surgical medical teams have been deployed to the worst-affected areas.

The number of missing individuals has surged dramatically, exceeding 4,000. They include 933 people associated with a hydropower project, 592 foreign nationals and 127 Nepalis accompanying foreign tourists. Some of them were Indian pilgrims making their annual Kailash-Mansarovar yatra.

Mount Kailash is sacred to Hindus, who consider it to be the abode of deities Shiva and Parvati, while Tibetan Buddhists and Jains associate it with Mount Meru, which they believe to be the centre of the universe.

Pilgrims take a circuitous route of the mountain, which it is forbidden to climb. They bathe in the icy waters of Mansarovar along Nepal’s border with China for what they say brings peace, tranquillity and healing.

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