41 Australians missing in Nepal floods as Canberra deploys crisis teams

Forty-one Australians remain unaccounted for after catastrophic flooding swept through Nepal's border region with Tibet on Wednesday, though one woman's successful trek to safety has offered a glimmer of hope in an otherwise grim accounting. Cara Severino, 25, made contact with her parents, Debbie and Frank, on Friday morning to report that she was hiking away from the disaster zone toward Kathmandu alongside a group of Nepali hikers—a journey of more than 110 kilometers through terrain still threatened by the monsoon. Her emergence as the first confirmed safe Australian came as the missing count climbed by three overnight, rising from 38 unaccounted for on Friday evening to 41 by Saturday morning.

The scale of the disaster extends far beyond the Australian contingent. Nepal's disaster management authority reports approximately 600 dead and as many as 93,000 people affected by the flash floods. Nationally, 1,924 people remain unaccounted for, with 517 of those being foreign tourists. By Friday evening, authorities had rescued 121 foreigners, though none were Australian. The Red Cross has warned that rescue operations are being severely hampered by the threat of additional flooding and the heavy monsoon conditions that continue to batter the region.

Outside Kathmandu hospital, the human toll was visible in scenes of desperate searching. Families posted photographs of missing loved ones on walls and fences. Hospital authorities hung pictures of the dead awaiting identification. One woman was putting up images of her cousin, who had traveled back from Australia after learning his brother had gone missing in the disaster. The Department of Foreign Affairs has fielded more than 450 calls related to the crisis, each one representing a family somewhere trying to locate someone they love.

Keshav Kadel, vice president of the Australian Nepalese Multicultural Centre, described the devastation in stark terms: entire towns have been swept away, leaving only mudslides in their place. The scale of destruction has made rescue work extraordinarily difficult. Rescue operations in both Nepal and China were suspended Friday due to flooding risks before resuming Saturday morning, creating gaps in the search effort when every hour matters.

The Australian government has mobilized a significant response. Four Department of Foreign Affairs crisis response team officers were expected to arrive in Kathmandu on Saturday, joining four additional rapid response team members with expertise in communications, logistics, and planning. These deployments supplement the approximately 20 personnel already stationed at the Australian embassy in Kathmandu. On Friday night, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong spoke with Nepal's foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, to pledge further humanitarian assistance.

Australia has committed $5 million in aid and support. Two million dollars will go to the World Food Programme to provide emergency food and water, with the remainder directed to the Emergency Action Alliance, a coalition of major Australian charities that is raising funds for emergency shelters, hygiene supplies, and medical care. Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Matt Thistlethwaite emphasized that the aid was being provided at the request of Nepalese authorities. Australian officials in Beijing are also coordinating with the Chinese government, though China has not yet requested assistance.

Back in Australia, the crisis has reverberated through diaspora communities. Thistlethwaite held two online forums on Friday—one with the Nepalese community and one with the Tibetan community—to brief them on the situation and outline available support. He attended a vigil in Strathfield with members of the Nepalese community, where he witnessed considerable despair and anxiety. The work of locating the missing and supporting affected communities continues under difficult conditions, with ground operations hampered by terrain damage and weather that shows no sign of relenting.