UK offers £5 million to Nepal following country’s devastating flash floods

Josh Payne, Stanley Murphy-Johns and Erik Olsson, Press Association

The UK has offered £5 million to help the Nepalese government amid a “very distressing and devastating situation” following the country’s flash floods, the Prime Minister has said.

More than 30 British nationals are among hundreds of people missing and feared dead as rescue efforts continued on Thursday.

Andy Burnham told reporters an offer had also been made for emergency responders to head to the affected area.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 165 bodies have so far been recovered following flooding in the Rasuwa district, which borders China’s autonomous region of Tibet.

Two teenagers, a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, are among the 33 British nationals believed to be unaccounted for, as the total number of missing people rose from 403 to 826.

Flash floods caused rivers to burst their banks and covered populated areas in thick mud, burying houses and creating difficult conditions for rescuers.

Videos posted on social media appeared to show huge floodwaters surging through valleys as people screamed in terror, with bridges being washed away.

Other videos showed people desperately fleeing uphill to escape the surging muddy floodwaters.

Speaking to journalists during a visit to South Wales, the Prime Minister said: “It’s a devastating picture that is emerging from what has happened in Nepal.

“Scenes that we’ve never seen the like before, I don’t think, certainly the scale of the devastation.

“So there is immediate action being taken. We are deploying consular support staff to the region so that British nationals will be able to access support 24/7.

“An offer has been made of emergency responders to head to the region but that’s obviously a matter for the Nepalese government.

“But also we’ve offered £5 million to help with that response effort.

“Obviously, there are a number of British nationals who currently are thought to be missing and we’ll be providing all the support we can to their families in what is a very distressing and devastating situation.”

The president of the Nepal Centre for Disaster Management described the scene as being like a “tsunami from the sky” and that villages have been “completely wiped out”.

Bishal Nath Upreti told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the damage to the infrastructure has been so extensive only helicopters can be used to reach the site of the disaster.

Climate Cymru

Responding to the devastating flash floods and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) sweeping through the Himalayan region in Nepal, Bethan Sayed, Head of Politics and Advocacy for Climate Cymru, issued the following comment urging immediate climate action at home in Wales: “What is unfolding in Nepal right now is absolutely heartbreaking, and we must be clear about the root cause.

“This is an undeniable consequence of climate change. Anyone claiming otherwise is ignoring clear scientific warnings. As recent research published in Frontiers in Climate makes clear, warming rates across the Himalayan region far exceed global averages.

“The rapid melting of glaciers and the rising threat of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods represent visible, devastating indicators of climate-induced loss and damage. Entire communities, infrastructure, and lives are being swept away due to systemic global failure to halt emissions.”

Bethan added: “While Nepal may feel geographically distant, Cymru cannot escape this crisis. We are not immune to extreme weather. From severe winter flooding across our valleys to coastal erosion threatening our communities, the impacts of a destabilised climate are already on our doorstep.

“This disaster serves as a stark reminder of our global responsibility. We have written to the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) in Wales to ask if they are going to initiate a fundraising appeal for the victims of this emergency.

“We cannot stand by, express sympathy, and continue with business-as-usual policies. Wales must accelerate its transition away from fossil fuels, invest heavily in nature-based flood defences, and lead by example in pushing for rapid emission reductions. Action taken in Wales today directly contributes to protecting vulnerable communities worldwide tomorrow.”

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