Deadly flash flooding in Nepal hits close to home for this North Bay man
Bay Area Nepalese man talks about floods impact on family & friends
North Bay man from Nepal with family and friends still there , shares photos and videos of the devastation captured by his loved ones who survived. A man in Kathmandu describes the many families search for the missing.
MARIN COUNTY, Calif. - The devastating images of riverside towns north of Kathmandu swept away by massive walls of rock, ice, and mud have hit close to home in the Bay Area.
North Bay resident Jay Tamang watched the disaster unfold through videos and photos sent by his family and friends in Nepal.
Bay Area Nepalese community reacts to catastrophic flooding
While Tamang's immediate family survived the disaster, their homes were swept away, and he remains unable to contact dozens of other relatives and friends.
"Relatives, friends... people from my village are affected," Tamang said. "We're really sad. We don't know how many people are missing."
Ground zero: connecting with survivors in Kathmandu
Through a video call, Tamang connected KTVU with Agbir Lama, a survivor in Kathmandu who recently returned from an impacted area after helping move his sister's children to safety.
Lama described the scene as "like a dream" with entire cities and buildings swept away.
Lama praised the rescue efforts despite limited infrastructure.
"The army, they are really doing a good job," Lama said. "Still our country is a developing country. We don't have a lot of infrastructure. We don't have a lot of technology, but still they are trying to find people, they are trying to save the people there."
Lama plans to ride his motorbike back into the impacted areas in the coming days to search for dozens of other relatives he has not yet been able to contact.
How to Help
Tamang is mobilizing support through his nonprofit, Nepal Freed, which he originally established following Nepal's massive 2015 earthquake—raising $150,000 to build three schools in his village and a neighboring area.
He is now coordinating relief efforts for families who lost their homes.
For more information on Nepal Freed: http://www.nepalfreed.com
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Reach Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com, text/leave a message at 510-599-3922, or follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @AmberKTVU.Tiktok @amberleenews
The Source: Interviews with members of the Nepalese community: Jay Tamang and Agbir Lama