Trump Offers US Assistance After Deadly Floods on Nepal-Tibet Border

The White House said Thursday that President Donald Trump had spoken with Nepalese leaders and offered comprehensive aid, including search and rescue support, after flash floods devastated the Nepal-Tibet border region on Wednesday. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was focused on rescuing every American possible, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio prioritizing the safety of U.S. citizens.

The U.S. has already committed $500,000 in emergency assistance through Catholic Relief Services for shelter, relief supplies, and water and sanitation aid. The State Department is sending a disaster response advisor to the region, and the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu is coordinating with local authorities to locate and assist American citizens.

Among the missing are at least 22 Indian Americans affiliated with the Isha Foundation, the organization founded by spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. They were part of a larger group returning from Mount Kailash, a sacred site for Hindus and Buddhists, when the floods hit the Gyirong immigration center. Sridevi Vejella, one of the missing, had completed the pilgrimage just before the disaster, according to her husband, Deepak Dandu, a U.S. citizen who was traveling to Hyderabad, India, where their 13-year-old son is staying with family.

A separate group of 10 men from Northern Virginia, nine of them U.S. citizens, also remains missing. The group includes Anil Goel, Srinivas Sudhir Rangu, Laxminath Gopisetty, Keshav Rao, Kirti Acharya, Sudhindra Yapalparvi, Vivek Srivastav, Venkat Balasubramanyam and Venkat Bangalore; the 10th member, Mahendra Gupta, is a Canadian citizen. Sneha Sudhir, whose husband is among them, said families have been unable to reach the group by phone and have been contacting officials in the U.S. and abroad.

Representative Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat whose Virginia district includes several of the missing men, said his office is in regular contact with the State Department and pressing for a thorough search-and-rescue effort. Families have also reached out to Senator Tim Kaine and to diplomatic missions representing Nepal, India and China. The State Department has established channels for families seeking information, including a hotline at 1-888-407-4747 from the U.S. and Canada, and the embassy in Kathmandu can be reached at KathmanduACS@state.gov.