Buddhist Organizations Respond to Nepal’s Flash Floods

On the morning of Wednesday, August 26, a flash flood was triggered by a glacier collapsing in Nepal’s Langtang National Park, according to the US Geological Survey. The park is about seventy-five miles north of Kathmandu, and the flood and debris traveled more than fifty miles, sweeping away everything in its path. 

A week later, the death toll in Nepal has reached 1,222 people, and nearly 5,000 people remain missing. On the Tibetan side, the death toll is 21, with more than 540 people unaccounted for, Chinese state media reports.

The Kathmandu Valley is the spiritual home and an important pilgrimage site for Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Tibetan Bon, and other religions and traditions. Pilgrims, including those on their way to Mount Kailash, are among the missing. In Kathmandu, people are pinning photos and descriptions of missing loved ones, while mass burials are held, sometimes with straw effigies in place of the missing.  

Earlier this week, Tricycle briefly corresponded with Rockey Tripathi, a volunteer in Nepal associated with Bodhi Institute and many other institutions in Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha.  

“Yes, we are doing the first response, but it’s just very difficult to access the flooded area due to road blockages and also constant threat of landslides,” wrote Tripathi, who went to Galchi, Dhading District, to help with aid distribution following the floods. Tripathi and the other volunteers from Lumbini also responded to the 2015 Nepal earthquake and the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We are preparing to go and rebuild, clean and tidy the houses for flood victims (for) as many requests that need helping hands,” Tripathi said, adding he plans to help with additional support and supplies for those living in government temporary housing, especially for children, women, and girls. (Tripathi is the brother of Venerable Metteyya Sakyaputta, a monk in Lumbini whose work supports local women through training programs and young nuns through Peace Grove Nunnery.) 

When asked how best to support the relief effort, Tripathi suggested donating through Anatta World Health, a US nonprofit, or the Canadian Engaged Buddhist Organization. 

Friends of Tricycle have also recommended donating to the following organizations:

Adhikaar, a women-led community and workers organization that serves the Nepali-speaking community of New York, has compiled a list of emotional support resources, including the contact information of chaplains and community organizations, and has hosted community gatherings at their Woodside, Queens, center. Adhikaar has also shared a link to a database of missing and located people, including foreign nationals.