Nepalese Lincolnites react to devasting flash floods back home
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The devastating flash floods in northern Nepal are hitting close to home for the Nepalese community of Lincoln.
Many, including Tika Gurung, are unable to locate their family and friends.
Gurung graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln this year with a degree in engineering.
He says before moving to Nebraska, he studied atmospheric sciences in Nepal and walked the same mountainous terrain where the flooding occurred.
Gurung described the news as heartbreaking and explained to Channel 8 on Thursday how the relief efforts in Nepal come with added difficulties.
“One thing is that they already lost the road connectivity, so one of the means [of recovery] is aerial, like through helicopters,” he said.
“My thoughts are with the people who are searching for them. Nebraska and Nepal are totally different in terms of terrain, in terms of the topography, in terms of the climate.”
He adds that it is currently monsoon season there, which occurs every year between June and September, but has never created this much loss before.
Another Nepalese Lincolnite sharing his reaction, is Sandeep Sharma.
Sharma is the current President of the Nepalese Student Association at UNL.
For the past year in the role, he has focused his efforts on helping the 100+ NSA students feel like Lincoln is a second home.
Sharma says after learning about the flooding, his role became about helping the Nepalese community here soldier through.
He adds that the floods actually occurred in his hometown.
“It’s the best, one of the most frequently visited tourism sites, first thing. Second thing, we have a festival tomorrow where people specifically visit for that reason,” he said.
“So, it’s also more people this time than it’s actually supposed to be normally. What we fear most, is a whole lot of people might have been stranded on their way, and we’d have no idea about it because they don’t have any kind of telecommunications right now, or any kind of internet right now because everything is down.”
Sharma says that Nepal needs all the support it can get right now, so he asked that those who would like to help donate directly to Nepal, the Prime Minister’s relief fund.
