President Donald Trump has pledged U.S. assistance to Nepal following catastrophic flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border, offering the country “anything they want” as American officials work to locate about 90 U.S. citizens who remain unaccounted for, including dozens of Indian Americans.
Speaking to reporters at the White House Thursday, Trump described the devastation as “terrible” and said the United States had been in direct contact with Nepalese leaders.
“We’ve called Nepal, and we’ve offered any help that they need,” Trump said, describing how powerful floodwaters and mud swept away even strongly constructed buildings “like they were toothpicks.”
“We are sending aid, and we’ve spoken to the leadership, and we let them know anything they want, we’ll have,” he added.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was focused on rescuing Americans affected by the disaster, calling their safety a priority for President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“We’re focusing on rescuing every American that we possibly can and that effort will continue,” she said.
The Trump administration has already announced $500,000 in emergency assistance through Catholic Relief Services to provide shelter, relief supplies, and water, sanitation and hygiene assistance to communities affected by the disaster.
The State Department is also deploying a disaster response advisor to the region to support relief efforts, while the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu is working closely with local authorities to locate and assist American citizens.
The assistance comes as families across the United States anxiously await word about loved ones caught in the disaster, which struck the mountainous border region on Wednesday. About 90 Americans remain unaccounted for, according to U.S. officials, with many believed to have been traveling on treks or pilgrimages to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site revered by Hindus and Buddhists.
Among the missing are at least 22 Indian-Americans affiliated with the Isha Foundation, the organization founded by Indian spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. They were part of a larger group returning from Mount Kailash when the floods struck the Gyirong immigration center along the border.
One of them, Sridevi Vejella, had just completed the pilgrimage — described by her husband, Deepak Dandu, as a “lifetime dream” — just moments before the disaster hit.
Dandu, a U.S. citizen, told CBS News that he was traveling to Hyderabad, India, where the couple’s 13-year-old son was staying with family as they awaited word about Vejella.
“He is going through a lot, hearing all the news,” Dandu said.
Separately, a group of 10 men from Northern Virginia who had set out on a trek to Mount Kailash remain missing. Nine are U.S. citizens — Anil Goel, Srinivas Sudhir Rangu, Laxminath Gopisetty, Keshav Rao, Kirti Acharya, Sudhindra Yapalparvi, Vivek Srivastav, Venkat Balasubramanyam and Venkat Bangalore. The 10th member, Mahendra Gupta, is a Canadian citizen.
Sneha Sudhir, whose husband is among the missing men, said the families have been unable to reach the group by phone since the flooding and have been contacting officials in the United States and abroad in an effort to locate them.
Sisters Shreya and Ashna Ahuja have also appealed for international assistance and coordination to help locate their parents, Deepak and Madhu Ahuja of Dallas, Texas. The couple had traveled to Mount Kailash on a “bucket list” trip to celebrate Deepak Ahuja’s 60th birthday.
Siblings Radhika and Akash Sharma are traveling to Nepal to join the search for their parents, Ramesh Sharma, 65, and Neelam Sharma, 64, of New York City. They told media outlets they planned to assist directly in efforts to locate the couple.
Others reported missing include Rekha and Rashi Shashidharan, a mother and daughter from New York, and Venus Rajnikant Patel, 45, an Indian born U.S. citizen from Cincinnati who had been traveling toward Mount Kailash.
Representative Suhas Subramanyam (D-Virginia), whose 10th Congressional District includes parts of Northern Virginia where several of the missing Indian Americans live, said his office is in regular contact with the State Department and is pressing for a thorough search-and-rescue effort.
“The news of the flash floods at the Nepal-Tibet border is devastating,” Subramanyam said. “I am especially concerned that so many U.S. citizens have been impacted and are currently missing, including many of my constituents from Northern Virginia.”
“Some of them were community leaders who went to find spiritual connection in the Himalayas,” he added.
Subramanyam said his team is working to ensure a thorough search-and-rescue operation and regular communication with families seeking information about their loved ones.
Families have also reached out to Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) and to diplomatic missions representing Nepal, India and China as they seek information and assistance in locating those missing in the remote Himalayan region.
The State Department said it is closely monitoring the crisis and extended its “deepest condolences” to families who lost loved ones in the floods.
The disaster devastated communities across Nepal’s Rasuwa district and areas across the border in Tibet, sweeping away homes, hotels, roads, bridges and other infrastructure and leaving large areas difficult to reach. A glacier collapse is believed to have triggered the catastrophic surge of water, mud, ice and debris, although authorities and scientists are continuing to assess the precise sequence of events.
Search and rescue operations continued Friday amid concerns about additional flooding from newly formed lakes and blocked waterways in the mountainous region.
The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu is assisting Americans affected by the disaster, while the State Department has established channels for families seeking information about missing relatives. U.S. citizens in Nepal requiring urgent assistance can contact the embassy at KathmanduACS@state.gov. Those seeking information about family members can call 1-888-407-4747 from the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries.