Just before a massive mudslide cut through the border region between Tibet and Nepal, Dhaval and Megha Shah reached out to their daughter Richa back home in Port Moody to tell her about their travels. 52-year-old Dhaval, a marine consultant pursuing his PhD, and Megha, a 50-year-old finance and logistics manager with the City of Vancouver, were part of a tour group that included close friends from Coquitlam. “My dad sent me photos and told me he missed me, and he tried to call me two hours before the flood hit,” said Richa. “I wasn’t able to pick up the call, and that’s the last time I could have heard from them.” Soon, Richa Shah began seeing horrifying images of the catastrophic mudslide, and she could not reach her parents. No one from their tour group, which had been staying at a hotel in the area, has been heard from since. “I hope whatever happened to them, they were together,” said Richa. For the past week, the 26-year-old has tried to get information about the search effort from Global Affairs Canada. “I expected Canada to have established protocols for emergencies like this. I was not contacted by Global Affairs until the sixth day of the catastrophe,” she said. A staffer was finally assigned to her parents’ case on Tuesday, but Richa feels that’s not nearly soon enough. “Every minute that passes by the lake is filling up again; there could be another flood. They could be stranded somewhere in rubble,” Richa said. She learned the federal government would be requesting DNA from families of the missing. “I wasn’t told how it would be collected, which was incredibly difficult ... going through my parents’ things, not knowing if I’m looking at a graveyard of their things,” Richa said. “My brain can’t even fathom the pain I’m about to go through in the next year. I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life. I don’t know how to continue on with myself.” She believes the Canadian government should have done more to support impacted families in the days following the disaster. “I understand that it’s chaotic there and that they don’t have all the answers, but being kept in the dark is another story,” Richa said. “I think Canadian citizens, we deserve more from our government when we need help, because my parents always served the people here. They love the country, and I think they deserve more, wherever they are.” Richa would also like to see various governments coordinate on using geolocation to find the missing. “My dad had an Apple Watch,” Richa said. “I don’t know how accurate they are after the emergency, but it’s something.” As the days have passed with no sign of anyone from her parents’ tour group, Richa understands they may never be located. “I’ve come to terms with it; maybe they’ll never find the remains, but I’m really disappointed with the delay by the Canadian government,” she said. “My dad is someone who would be there right now saving anyone he saw, and I think he deserves the same from the people here.”
