“Even if only to find the missing or mourn”: Kathmandu overwhelmed by flood victims and grieving families

A woman carrying a backpack and belongings was turned away from a Buddhist temple in Kathmandu because her flood-ravaged home district was not among those the temple could accommodate. The temple’s iron gate stayed closed as officials said it was already full of survivors from Timure.

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This place is already full with Timure flood survivors alone.

Nine days after Nepal’s major floods, survivors and relatives of the dead are crowding into the capital. They are looking for missing family members, handling funeral procedures or simply searching for somewhere to sleep. Temples are limiting admissions by district because they cannot absorb everyone, while food and relief supplies are running short.

At Yellow Gompa, a temple about 10 minutes from Mustang Gompa, 400 Timure survivors had recently been housed before some were moved to other temples because of a lack of space. A temple official said the remaining food and relief goods were still barely sufficient.

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There is far too little food, and only enough space to lie down.

Funerals are another reason families are coming to Kathmandu. Bodies are transported to the capital because it has larger hospitals, and funeral rites must then take place at temples there. Hindu funerals last 13 days, during which relatives reduce outside contact, perform religious rites and need a place to stay.

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If I had continued working there, I would also be dead.

A facility at Mahadev Temple has 17 rooms, all occupied by families from heavily flooded areas including Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading. Staff said more than 10 people a day ask about funeral accommodation. Some families have set up tents beside temples instead. Bisuram Busnet, 35, said he lost seven relatives, including his grandparents and parents. He described the tent as a place for people without rooms to perform rites, adding that there was too little food and barely enough space to lie down. Chiring Lama, now helping privately after leaving work at the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant, said, “If I had continued working there, I would also be dead.” He called for countries that use large amounts of fossil fuels to remember the suffering, bodies and grieving families he has seen.

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At first, I felt the danger of climate change. Then I wondered why Nepal had to suffer like this. I keep seeing terrible bodies, and the sound of families crying never stops. I hope countries that use a lot of fossil fuels will remember this sight and these sounds.