The devastation from deadly flooding in Nepal is being felt thousands of kilometres away in Calgary. The federal government says at least 30 Canadians are reported missing after flash floods tore through communities near the Nepal-Tibet border. For Dinesh Ghimire, the images coming out of Nepal aren’t just pictures of disaster but of the place and people he knows. “When we heard the news it was very heartbreaking,” he said. Ghimire is an engineer who went to school and worked in Nepal before moving to Canada 15 years ago. Several of his friends were among those feared missing. One has since been found, but members of his wife’s family are still unaccounted for. “My wife is also pretty sad and we are trying to connect with the community together,” Ghimire said. Hundreds of people have been confirmed dead, while more than a thousand remain unaccounted for. Ghanendra Neupane, president of the Nepalese Community Society of Calgary, says people in the local community are checking in on friends and family in Nepal. “We are kind of asking everybody to knock at their next door in order to make sure that your neighbor, your friends, your family members and their family members are safe in Nepal as well,” he said. The flooding destroyed homes, roads and bridges and cut off some of the hardest-hit communities. Scientists are also working to understand what caused the disaster. Dr. Brian Menounos, a professor of geography and earth sciences at UNBC, says a large section of a glacier appears to have broken away from steep bedrock, sending an estimated 100 million tonnes of ice and debris into the area. Menounos says climate change is also making Himalayan glaciers increasingly unstable. “What we do know is that in that part of the world, as in our mountains, we are seeing a profound retreat of glaciers due to rising greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. For Ghimire, the focus now is on finding missing loved ones and getting support to those affected. “I’m holding on and we are communicating with every agency, with the government to support Nepal at this time,” he said. — with files from Moses Woldu
