Plea from Udaibahadur Gurung MBE:

On 26 August 2026, a massive section of glacier collapsed high in the mountains on the Nepal-Tibet border, unleashing a catastrophic flash flood down the Lhende, Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers. Villages and small towns from Rasuwa through Nuwakot and Dhading, and onward along the Trishuli as far as Damauli, were swept away in minutes - homes, bridges, roads, hydropower stations, vehicles and vital infrastructure destroyed, in many places without a single drop of local rain falling.

The human cost is staggering. At the time of writing, at least 160 people are confirmed dead and close to 1,500 remain missing across Nepal and Tibet, among them tourists and trekkers from more than twenty countries. Nineteen bridges have been destroyed, and around 40 kilometres of road washed away, cutting off entire communities. More than 5,000 Nepalese army and police personnel are working around the clock in extremely difficult and dangerous conditions. Still, the scale of the destruction means many areas remain impossible to reach. This is the worst disaster to strike Nepal since the devastating earthquake of 2015.

The Nepali government has declared the affected districts disaster zones, and international support is beginning to arrive, including emergency assistance from India, the United States, and South Korea, as well as satellite mapping teams from the United Nations and the European Union. But the need on the ground - for shelter, clean water, medical care, and the long road of rebuilding to come - will far outstrip what any single response can provide.

Colchester Nepalese Society (CNS), representing the Nepalese and Gurkha community here in Colchester, is asking for your help. Many of us have family, friends, and roots in the very communities affected by this tragedy, and we are determined to do everything we can to support them. Every donation, large or small, will go directly toward relief and recovery efforts for the families who have lost everything - their homes, their livelihoods, and in far too many cases, their loved ones.

We know we cannot undo what has happened. But together, we can help these communities begin to rebuild. Please give what you can, and please share this page with others - every contribution and every share brings real help closer to the people who need it most.

Thank you for standing with Nepal.

Colchester Nepalese Society (CNS)

Registered Charity Number 1152926