Nepali community in Chicago ready to help disaster-struck homeland after deadly flash flood
In the heart of the Nepali community in Chicago, efforts to help are underway after a devastating landslide and flash flood swept through the Nepal-China border on Wednesday. At least 360 people were killed, and more than 1,4000 are missing, including 65 Americans.
Nepali leaders in Chicago said there was a meeting Wednesday night in the Edgewater neighborhood, where major stakeholders came together to create one centralized donation website as thousands of families wait anxiously to hear if their family and friends in Nepal survived.
Nearly 8,000 miles away from the current disaster area in northern Nepal, the Nepali community in Edgewater – about 3,000 people strong – waits for word on their loved ones.
"I would say over 90% of the Nepali community are first-generation over here," said Rajan Shahi, founder and president of Nepalese Aid, a Chicago-based nonprofit. "Their immediate family members, friends, their relatives, everyone is in Nepal, and when this happened, everyone is really worried."
The U.S. Geological Survey first reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake early Wednesday, about 41 miles north of Kathmandu, near the border. The USGS later updated its analysis to say the seismic event it measured was a magnitude 5.2 glacial collapse that sent debris flowing downstream with catastrophic impact on communities. It said its determination was based on data from nearby seismic stations, long period seismic waves and satellite imagery, and that no earthquake had occurred.
Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said an avalanche from a glacier likely caused Wednesday's flash flood.
There was little time for anyone to flee as flash floods decimated villages, slamming into houses, roads, bridges and power plants. Videos broadcast by regional news outlets and posted on social media show violent torrents of water surging through valleys and mountain passes, tearing down bridges and dams and sweeping away buildings.
Drone footage in Nepal on Wednesday showed roads destroyed and buildings buried by thundering water the color of wet cement.
"It was very shocking. I couldn't believe it, because the wave I seen was just like a movie," said Bala Ghimire, owner of Chicago Curry House and several other Nepali restaurants in Chicago. "It's going to take some time, quite which some time to figure out how many dead, and then what exactly the number of people who are missing. "
Diners were filling up his Printer's Row restaurant by lunchtime on Thursday, doing their part to support the Nepali community here.
"We have to raise some funds, and we have to support the families who live there," Ghimire said. "Nepali community is very underrepresented."
He'll be helping to lead the fundraising efforts with Shahi, whose organization serves the approximately 15,000 Nepali immigrants in Chicagoland.
"Nepali community, Nepali people are very resilient," Shahi said. "I know people are very strong and they will rise again."
