Vietnamese woman shares experience of devastating Nepal flash floods, gives updates on missing citizen

Vo Thi Kim Cuong, chairwoman of the Vietnamese Association in Nepal and owner of the Pho 99 restaurant chain in Kathmandu, the country's capital, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) online newspaper that she had never witnessed such a devastating natural disaster during her 16 years in the country.

The disaster has prompted an extensive response from Nepalese authorities, with the army and police deployed to affected areas while local residents have also joined rescue and relief efforts, Cuong said.

She described the response as rapid and effective, but said rescue operations remained highly dangerous due to the risk of newly formed water bodies bursting in western Tibet.

Residents and authorities have been advised to move to higher ground to avoid further danger, she said.

Cuong said she and many other Vietnamese women married to Nepali citizens considered Nepal their second home and were deeply saddened by the devastation.

The Vietnamese community in Nepal is ready to provide assistance to victims of the disaster if needed, she said.

She also urged Vietnamese charity groups and other visitors planning to travel to Nepal to strictly follow warnings and instructions from local authorities.

September is the mountain trekking season, and groups planning trekking trips should avoid the Langtang and Kailash routes and instead use the ABC route, Cuong said.

Regarding the missing Vietnamese citizen, as earlier reported by the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) based on a notice from the Nepal Tourism Board, Cuong said the Vietnamese association had received further information from Vietnamese representative agencies about the case.

Cuong said the Vietnamese citizen arrived at the Tibet Autonomous Region of China-Nepal border checkpoint at around 10:30 pm on August 25 and went to look for a hotel.

The person's phone lost contact at around 8:30 am on August 26, when devastating floods and landslides struck the area, she said.

Cuong said she had been informed about the license plate number of the vehicle used by the missing person, and her Nepali husband helped send all the information to police.

Rental vehicles in Nepal are equipped with GPS tracking systems, she said, adding that police are working to determine where the vehicle was registered and who rented it so its location can be traced.

The Vietnamese Embassy in India, which is also accredited to Nepal and Bhutan, is coordinating with the Vietnamese community in Nepal and the Vietnamese honorary consul in the country to verify information about the missing citizen, according to VNA.

The death toll from the catastrophic flooding in Nepal has risen to 616, while 2,301 people were injured and are receiving treatment, CNN reported, citing an update from Nepali police on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, about 2,500 people are still missing on both sides of the Nepal-China border, including dozens of Americans and other foreign nationals.