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🇦🇺 Australia /Disasters & Emergencies

Nepal's peak trekking season approaches as guides mourn flood disaster

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Ongoing story
  • Trekking guide Eka Devi Mainali is coordinating support for the families of 19 friends who remain missing after Nepal's floods.
  • Nepal has reported 1,118 recovered bodies and more than 3,900 missing people, including at least 38 Australians.
  • Guides say the disaster has left them torn between mourning and preparing for the country's peak tourism season.

Eka Devi Mainali would normally be preparing for Nepal's peak trekking season. Instead, she is waiting to learn whether the bodies of 19 missing friends have been found.

I have lost many friends and people I personally knew in this devastating disaster.

· Eka Devi MainaliMainali described the personal loss she faced as Nepal's trekking season approached.

“I have lost many friends and people I personally knew in this devastating disaster,” Mainali told the ABC. Nepal's main hiking season runs from September to November, but guides who lead visitors through the Himalayas now face the season while carrying their grief with them.

“It feels very difficult to talk about tourism or business without first thinking about the human tragedy,” Mainali said. “This is not simply a natural disaster. It is a deeply painful time for families who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods.”

It feels very difficult to talk about tourism or business without first thinking about the human tragedy.

· Eka Devi MainaliShe explained why guides were struggling to prepare for the peak season after the floods.

Mainali founded SheGuide Treks and has guided visitors on routes including Everest Base Camp for more than a decade. She gives 10 percent of her company's profits to programs supporting women and children. From her Kathmandu office, she has sorted children's clothing collected from relatives and friends for donation to communities affected by the floods. She is also coordinating with the families of the 19 missing people.

This is not simply a natural disaster. It is a deeply painful time for families who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods.

· Eka Devi MainaliMainali described the wider impact of the disaster on affected families.

“I am standing with their wives and children, doing my best to support and represent their families during this difficult time,” she said. Another guide, Shishir Sapkota, said the disaster had affected the entire trekking community, even when individual families remained safe. Nepal said 1,118 bodies had been recovered and more than 3,900 people were still missing, including at least 38 Australians.

I am standing with their wives and children, doing my best to support and represent their families during this difficult time.

· Eka Devi MainaliShe discussed helping the families of 19 missing friends.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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