A number of people who have expressed concern about the situation in Nepal or specifically about the impact on my colleagues and friends there. 

As you know there has been devastating recent flooding in China and Nepal. The impact appears greatest along the Trishuli River and the hydropower plants. There are more than 1000 dead and 4000 missing.

The Guardian has fairly good coverage of the floods in Nepal and Tibet. Unfortunately, the recent flooding may be just a harbinger of disasters to come. The Himalayan glaciers are part of what has been called Earth’s third pole. They are melting due to climate change, a process that threatens buildings, agriculture, and drinking water for nearly two billion people who live downstream.

My colleagues are located to a large part east of the flooding. As one says “The situation is truly terrible, and I fear the number of victims will continue to rise significantly. We are not operating in that region, so none of our schools or staff have been directly affected, but everyone is feeling the loss.”

The Nuwakot district has been a center for much of the destruction, but also as a site for refugees. It’s hilly there, so areas higher up are less affected. Susan and I visited there about ten years ago. We walked on one of the bridges that has been recently destroyed and stayed at Famous Farm Nuwakot, a rustic resort higher up.