The Brief
- A massive wall of rock, ice, mud, and debris crashed along the Nepal-China border, wiping out entire villages and leaving the Bay Area’s Nepalese community anxiously awaiting news of loved ones.
- Jay Tamang, a North Bay resident and native of Nepal, has confirmed his immediate family survived, but is still waiting to hear from dozens of other relatives and friends.
- Tamang’s nonprofit, Nepal Freed, which previously built three schools after the 2015 earthquake, is organizing relief efforts to help families devastated by the floods.
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. …