You may have seen in the news the horror this week that descended on the border of Rasuwagadhi, the Nepalese checkpoint and Tibetan border. Hundreds of people and their homes were swept away to their deaths.
Clips from mobile phones captured the nightmare seen as water, rocks and mud poured down at breathtaking speed while people ran for their lives, only to be drowned and lost in the floods and debris.
The world’s media have featured this massive glacial collapse as the prime item on television, radio and newspapers.
Nepalese government reported today (28.08.2026) that 1924 people were missing.
Tom Riddle, a senior in the Dharma sent me an email, which I publish here with his permission. He wrote:
“I’m planning to go hiking for a few days in England to get ready for Tibet. The trip, as of this moment, is scheduled to begin on September 16. But it’s hard to imagine my trip going forward. The location is in total ruins.
Rasuwagadhi, the checkpoint on the Nepalese side and Gyirong Port (Kyirong) is directly across the border in Tibet.
It takes three or four days in high attitude to walk around Mount Kailash. The missing pilgrims circumnavigated the mountain before heading to the border where the disaster occurred.
Most people finish the walk about noon. Their group heads directly for Nepal. It takes a day and a half to reach Gyirong, a beautiful city, where the groups spend their last night in Tibet. It’s far below the treeline, so for the first time in weeks, pilgrims can breathe easily.
My upcoming tour’s description says: “We will travel about 15km in about 40 minutes from Kyirong to the Nepal/Tibet border crossing of Rasuwa. We will leave the Tibetan staff there and walk over the bridge to Nepal where we have new cars for the 127 Km drive to Kathmandu.”
It will take months, years, for the area to recover.
Meanwhile, let’s all hope that the rescue effort goes well. My guide and everyone I know are okay.
Say a prayer for everyone else.
Boston, USA resident, Bryan Tucker, a senior in the Dharma, wrote a comment published in the online edition of the New York Times news report of the tragedy.
I’ve been to Nepal and trekked in the Langtang Himalayan region near Kathmandu almost thirty years ago. This is a devastating tragedy. It’s a reminder that life is fragile and that we are subject to forces far beyond our control. It hardly needs to be said, but clearly none of these people deserved such a fate.
Who is responsible? Is it just a matter of chance and being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or if climate change is implicated, do we who use fossil fuels ultimately bear some responsibility for such disasters, as well as for the horrible forest fires that have occurred in Europe, Canada, the northern U.S., and other places? Is it a combination of bad, dumb luck and preventable conditions caused by our actions?
Whatever the explanation, it’s clear these people didn’t deserve such a monumental disaster, a reminder that this universe can be coldly indifferent to human affairs, and that it is up to us to seek justice and to relieve suffering whenever possible.
Those efforts, rather than to foment hatred and divisiveness, should give meaning to our lives. I would urge readers to support relief efforts in this uniquely beautiful part of the world, whose culture and values have much to teach us.
Dear Readers,
The glacial collapse in Nepal/Tibet has brought a devastating loss to communities already living with limited resources.
Survivors grieve their loved ones while facing the immediate struggle for shelter, food, clean water, medical care, and a way to rebuild. For families in isolated mountain areas, help cannot always arrive quickly enough.
Find a reputable charity or Nepalese/Tibetan aid organisation in your own country that is raising funds for people affected by this disaster. A donation, shared with many others, can provide essential relief and offer families an important measure of relief at an unbearable time.
Let us stand beside the people of this Himalayan region with practical kindness, generosity, and urgency.
Distance does not lessen our shared humanity.
Please act now, if you can.
Thank you for sharing Christopher. Words for me are hard to come by…there is instead silence. 🙏🏻