An urgent effort is underway in Nepal to identify victims of devastating floods that have overwhelmed morgues and left hundreds unaccounted for. Authorities are increasingly turning to DNA testing to match bodies to missing persons, as traditional methods become overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster.
On Tuesday morning, dozens of relatives gathered at a hospital in Kathmandu to provide blood samples for DNA analysis. Among them was 19-year-old Parkrit Gurung, who hopes that her DNA will help confirm the fate of her mother. While her father’s body has been located and identified by her brother, her mother remains missing. At the request of the government, family members from across the Kathmandu Valley and beyond have been coming forward to aid identification efforts. Several Australian families have participated in DNA collection, including one Australian citizen who traveled to Nepal to support his missing Nepali brother. Australian authorities report that 38 Australians remain missing as a result of the floods.
Rameshwor Adhikari, an army official overseeing the sample collection, described the situation as a “disaster” and emphasized the need for as many relatives as possible to provide samples to assist in victim identification. More than 1,000 deaths have been officially confirmed, with nearly 4,000 people still reported missing. The crisis has prompted calls from family members of the missing, including 25 Australians, urging their government for greater support in recovering loved ones.
The hardest-hit region remains the upper Rasuwa district along Nepal’s northern border with China, where many villages have been cut off since the floods struck over a week ago. Residents of Timure village continue to await rescue, with communication severed and access blocked due to destroyed roads and bridges. Lhakpa Gha, 53, recounted the loss of seven relatives in the floods, including immediate family members. She and her husband survived by chance, having been in Kathmandu at the time. The local army presence has yet to gain access to many affected villages due to safety concerns, frustrating survivors demanding urgent relief.
A United Nations report on conditions in the remote northern areas warned that reaching some communities may take weeks because of the extensive damage to infrastructure. Aid organizations face similar access difficulties. Amy Sagitta Lefevre from Save the Children described efforts to deliver assistance to Rasuwa district, noting that relief supplies must be staged at army barracks before being transported up the valley. Aid workers have provided non-food items such as tarpaulins, blankets, ropes, and mobile toilets to assist survivors sheltering in overcrowded locations, including a Buddhist monastery housing roughly 200 displaced people.
Save the Children highlighted particular concerns regarding vulnerable populations, including the estimated 2,600 children in need of treatment for severe malnutrition and over 100 reported separations of children from their families. The organization has established a field office in anticipation of a recovery period that could extend beyond a year. Key risks include potential outbreaks of disease due to contaminated water and crowded shelters, as well as fears about child trafficking in the disaster's aftermath. Historically, this area has been a hotspot for trafficking, especially of girls, and aid workers are vigilantly monitoring the situation.
The humanitarian response continues as Nepal’s government, military, and aid agencies navigate complex logistical challenges to reach isolated communities and provide immediate relief to those affected by one of the country’s worst natural disasters in recent memory.