UN’s Nepal chief makes emotional plea for flood-ravaged country

The lives of flood survivors in Nepal were transformed in “one to two minutes,” the United Nations’ top official in the country said after visiting communities devastated by the disaster.

UN Resident Coordinator Lila Pieters Yahia said people were struggling to understand how their Himalayan homes had suddenly become scenes of ruin. “You lose your home, you lose your livelihood, you lose your loved one and you lose the breadwinner of your family,” she told AFP in Kathmandu. “And you know, this happened in one to two minutes.”

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You lose your home, you lose your livelihood, you lose your loved one and you lose the breadwinner of your family. And you know, this happened in one to two minutes.

The August 26 flood, which swept through the China-Nepal border region, killed at least 1,384 people and left more than 5,500 missing across the two countries. More than 800 foreigners from at least 34 countries are among the missing in Nepal and Tibet in China, including tourists and pilgrims.

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Those people are cut off from the rest of the world because the road is gone.

Many communities near the disaster’s epicentre remain cut off. Roads have disappeared, journeys that once took hours now take a full day, and emergency deliveries face repeated bottlenecks. The UN is working with Nepal’s government to reach the affected areas and has launched a $50 million appeal for more than 84,000 people.

The floods destroyed roads, bridges and hydropower dams across the mountain districts. Pieters Yahia said the terrain, landslides and continuing monsoon season were making access especially difficult. “We can’t leave them there. We can’t leave them alone,” she said in her appeal for international support.

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We may have risk of cholera, so this is why immediately we have to invest in sanitation and hygiene.

The immediate needs extend beyond shelter and food. Government figures cited by Pieters Yahia show that 5,000 cattle died in the flooding, raising concerns about communicable diseases and a possible risk of cholera. She called for immediate investment in sanitation and hygiene, along with measures to protect vulnerable women and girls.

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My plea to the international community is: this is the time to help Nepal. It’s not tomorrow and it’s not yesterday. We can’t leave them there. We can’t leave them alone.