Landslide

About a week ago, there was a landslide in Lamosango. My sister, Sommaya, and her 3 month old baby were living in the village that took the brunt of the landslide. Prem went up to the site to identify bodies. As soon as he found Sommaya, he called let the family know and we all drove up to Lamosango. We saw body bags and the gigantic pile of earth that had completely blocked up the river. Sommaya's house was completely gone, but her shop was still standing. Villages downstream (including Prem's) were advised to evacuate to higher grounds in case the dam broke and caused flash floods. There is currently water flowing through, so flood threats have vanished.

The family is devastated. Prem took the clothes and fabric reams from Sommaya's old sewing shop. I spent a couple days in the village with him and we washed everything to get the mud out. He's going to give the fabric to Sommaya's husband to sell. Sommaya's husband, Ramesh, and older daughter, Prathana (7yrs old) were luckily not in the town when the landslide happened. Lamosango is Ramesh's hometown. He also lost three siblings and their spouses. Sommaya's body was taken to Pashupati - the large crematorium in Kathmandu. Prem didn't go, and I stayed with him. Kanchan, Smita, and Ramesh all went. I haven't seen Prathana, so I have no idea if she understands the situation.

After getting back from the village, I went back to Lamosango with the NGO and the affiliated Rotary club. We distributed 150 bags of food. Each bag should last a family of 5 for a week.