A Heart in Nepal, While My Body Is Far Away

The raw fury of the Bhotekoshi River after the catastrophic glacier collapse, carving through communities and erasing what stood in its path.

Editor's Note: This article was written on August 28, 2026. Information reflects reports available at the time of writing. The situation and casualty figures remain subject to change as rescue and recovery operations continue.

The Morning Everything Changed

The alarm rang at 5:30 AM.

I had to wake up early to get my son ready for school. It was a normal morning in Belgium. The routine was familiar. Wake up. Make breakfast. Pack the school bag. Help him get dressed. Walk him to school.

But that morning, everything changed.

I picked up my phone to check the time, and I saw the news notifications. My heart stopped.

I opened the Nepali media sites, and with every headline, my heart broke a little more.

My Wife's Village

My home is in a village high above the river, which helped keep it away from the worst of the flooding.

But my wife's birthplace, the village where she grew up and where her childhood memories were made, is gone, washed away by the flood.

It wasn't just a village on a map. It was where she grew up, where she knew the paths, the neighbours, the fields, and the faces of childhood. Every corner held a memory. Every street told a story.

Now it is gone.

Luckily, her parents are safe. But the village they once called home no longer exists. The land where they walked, where they worked, and where they built their lives is gone.

Lives were lost in that village. People she grew up with. Neighbours who once welcomed her with warm smiles. Children who played in the streets.

All gone.

A thick blanket of grey silt where a vibrant community, childhood memories, and a familiar neighborhood once stood.

The Silence of Helplessness

This is the cruelest part of being far away.

You see your homeland drowning. You see your people suffering. You see families searching for their loved ones. And you can do nothing but watch.

You cannot hold them. You cannot comfort them. You cannot dig through the debris to find someone's father, mother, or child. You can only sit in your foreign room, staring at a screen, feeling the weight of a thousand helpless prayers.

The phone does not ring. In some places, the network is gone. The roads are gone, too.

And in that silence, the weight of grief becomes unbearable.

The Flood That Broke Everything

On that Wednesday morning, the Bhote Koshi River became something few people could have imagined.

According to reports available at the time of writing, an ice and rock collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border sent a powerful surge of water, mud, and debris into the Lhende Khola. The debris temporarily blocked the river, forming a natural dam before the water broke through and surged into the Bhote Koshi River and downstream into Nepal. It swept away villages, bridges, roads, power lines, homes, and lives.

Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading were among the districts where communities faced severe flooding, destruction, displacement, and loss.

The flood was not just water. For many families, it meant the loss of homes, livelihoods, memories, and loved ones.

The Faces of Grief

At hospitals and other facilities, authorities are working to manage and identify the bodies being recovered.

Outside, relatives have gathered, waiting anxiously for information. There is silence in the crowd. Some people are crying. Others stand quietly, waiting for news.

Electricity and communications were disrupted across affected communities, leaving many families without reliable contact. Without reliable phone service, electricity, or roads, many villages across the Trishuli River were left isolated, with families struggling to get even the most basic information.

When unidentified bodies are brought in, families wait anxiously for the chance to learn whether their loved one has been found. Some may be identified from clothing, personal belongings, or other distinguishing details.

The Bodies Found Far Away

Bodies have been recovered far downstream, along riverbanks far from the communities where people lived. The water carried them far from their homes, far from their families, far from everything they knew.

Among those affected are students, children, workers, families, and animals, all caught in the disaster in an instant.

The river carried away the old and the young, workers and pilgrims, people and animals. It left behind silence and grief.

Twisted metal, overturned vehicles, and roads swallowed by mud - the heavy, silent aftermath left behind in the river valleys.

Why Does This Keep Happening?

This is a question that has haunted many Nepalis for decades.

Why do disasters keep coming?

The answer is not simple.

Geography: Nepal's geography makes many communities vulnerable to earthquakes, landslides, floods, and other natural hazards.

Climate Change: Climate change is changing the risk landscape. Changing rainfall patterns, rising temperatures, and changes in glaciers and snowpack can make some hazards more difficult to predict and manage. However, the causes of any specific disaster need to be assessed through scientific and official investigations.

Unplanned Development: In some places, roads and settlements have expanded without sufficient attention to disaster risk. Deforestation, poorly planned development, and settlement in vulnerable areas can increase the consequences when disasters strike.

The scale of destruction is not determined by geography alone. It is also determined by our preparedness, our planning, and our ability to respond.

What We Must Learn

We have seen this pattern before.

A disaster strikes. People die. The nation mourns. Promises of action follow. Then attention gradually moves elsewhere, while some of the underlying vulnerabilities remain.

Early warning systems need wider coverage and stronger communication. Rescue equipment and trained personnel need to be available where they are most needed. Roads, bridges, and health facilities need to be designed and prepared to withstand disasters.

What we need is not simply a response after disaster, but preparation before it:

• Better early warning systems
• Emergency communication networks
• Rescue equipment and trained personnel
• Disaster-resilient roads and bridges
• Safer settlement planning
• Better coordination between agencies
• Long-term disaster preparedness
• Sustainable recovery and reconstruction

A disaster should not become the only time we remember disaster preparedness.

The Cost of Being Far Away

Being far away is not the same as being unaffected.

The distance does not numb the pain. It does not silence the prayers. It does not stop the tears.

If anything, the distance makes it worse.

You cannot hold your mother. You cannot hug your brother. You cannot stand beside your father at the funeral. You can only watch from across the world, feeling like a ghost who cannot reach their homeland.

This is the reality for Nepalis living abroad. Our bodies are here. Our hearts are there. And when disaster strikes, the distance becomes unbearable.

What Can We Do?

We cannot bring back the dead. We cannot rebuild the lives that were lost.

But we can help.

We can donate to trusted organizations working on the ground. Please verify organizations before donating.

We can share accurate information so that rescue workers can reach those in need.

We can keep Nepal in our prayers and in our actions.

In this hour of disaster, the world is one family. Every country, every organization, every individual can become a source of hope for Nepal.

If you want to help, you can help. Every contribution, no matter how small, can become a lifeline for someone.

Your small help matters. Even $1 can make a difference.

For someone who has lost their home, livelihood, essential belongings, or a loved one, even a small contribution can mean a warm meal, clean water, essential supplies, or a blanket for the night.

Please donate only through trusted and verified humanitarian organizations, and always make sure the organization and donation appeal are genuine before donating. Organizations such as the Red Cross, UNICEF, and other established humanitarian agencies are supporting the response.

"If you are reading this and you feel the same weight, know that you are not alone. There are thousands of us, scattered across the world, carrying Nepal in our hearts."

A Final Prayer

May the missing be found.

May the grieving be comforted.

May the nation heal.

May we never forget this pain.

And may the people of Nepal find the strength to rise once more, even when the weight of grief is unbearable.

Jai Nepal. 🇳🇵

With all my love and solidarity,

One of your children, far from home ❤️🙏

 - Bitty
   Brugge, Belgium 🇧🇪

   28 August 2026