Dozens of people braved heavy rain in Auckland yesterday to attend a candlelight vigil for the victims of Wednesday's deadly flash floods in Nepal.
By Blessen Tom of RNZ
The gathering at Aotea Square in the central city also brought together people supporting families waiting for news of loved ones still missing after the disaster near the Nepal-China border.
Five New Zealanders are believed to be missing following the deadly flash flood.
The five who are missing have been named by friends and family as Mihir Patel, Kinnari Patel, Shweta Mhatre, Dejan Kuzmic and Suhasini Reddy.
Uday Shrestha, a member of the Nepali community in Auckland, said he attended the event to support fellow community members as they grappled with the situation back home.
"No one expected those things to happen," he said.
"It happened with no notice, and people lost their lives and so many loved ones are missing," Shrestha said.
He said he had friends and family back home, but not in the area where the flash floods happened.
Shrestha said it was time for the community to come together and support Nepal in whatever way they could.
Roshan Khadka, president of the New Zealand Nepal Society, agreed.
Toll expected to rise with more than 1400 still missing, including international tourists such as five New Zealanders. (Source: 1News)
"We didn't really care about the weather today. Back home our country is in flood, so this rain is nothing compared to what people are going thorough in Nepal," Khadka said.
He said there were people in the community here who had lost family and friends.
"I also have got some friends trapped in the hydropower tunnel," he said.
The Nepali Army has been working to rescue survivors trapped inside a tunnel at a hydropower project in Rasuwa.
Until Thursday, more than 100 people were estimated to have been trapped in the same tunnel.
Khadka said it was a very tough time for the community here and people needed to support each other.
He also said they were trying to raise as much money as they could for the Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund.
"Every dollar matters," he said.
The vigil was attended by Ethnic Communities Minister Mark Mitchell, National Party MPs Melissa Lee and Carlos Cheung, and Labour MP Vanushi Walters.
We're here in solidarity with the community and try to find them any support and comfort we can," Mitchell said.
"All of New Zealand is behind them."
Mitchell said he had no information about the five missing New Zealanders.
Mount Roskill MP Carlos Cheung said the Nepali community was not alone and the whole country was standing with them.
National List MP Melissa Lee broke down in tears while speaking about the Nepal tragedy.
"Watching the footage coming out of Nepal is absolutely heartbreaking," she said.
Labour List MP Vanushi Walters also echoed her parliamentary colleagues and reassured the community that the country was behind them.
Indian Consul General Madan Mohan Sethi also attended the vigil.
Nepalis living in New Zealand say it is "extremely difficult" seeing the level of destruction left behind. (Source: Breakfast)
Sethi said he had visited the family of Kinnari and Mihir Patel, who are believed to be among those missing following Wednesday's disaster.
He said the consulate was supporting the family in every way it could.
"It is very painful to all of us and India is committed to stand with Nepal," he said.
Close friends of Mhatre have told RNZ that she was currently in Nepal on a pilgrimage.
None of them had heard from her since Wednesday's catastrophic flash flooding on the Nepal-China border. A former partner of hers, as well as her neighbours, had not seen or heard from her.
RNZ understands Mhatre was part of the Isha Foundation's Sacred Walks pilgrimage.
The Isha Foundation told RNZ on Friday that Mhatre's emergency contacts had been notified about her situation.
RNZ understands another New Zealander, Dejan Kuzmic, was part of the Isha Foundation Sacred Walks tour group that Mhatre was travelling with. Kuzmic came to New Zealand from Bosnia and Herzegovina as a refugee when he was 10 years old.
Drone footage from Nepal's Nuwakot district showed damaged buildings and mud along the banks of the Trishuli river. (Source: Reuters)
RNZ has also spoken to a family friend, who confirmed the family had been unable to contact Kuzmic since the floods.
On Wednesday, Sadhguru, founder of the Isha Foundation, posted a video on social media saying two New Zealanders were missing from his pilgrimage group.
Aside from Mhatre, Kuzmic and the Patel couple, Suhasini Reddy is the fifth New Zealander that has been reported as missing following the flash flood, which has killed more than 600 people and left another 2400 missing.
A list of rescued foreign travellers released by the Nepal Tourism Board on Saturday did not identify any New Zealanders, though the nationalities of three of the 187 people were yet to be confirmed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said it was still waiting for official information from authorities on the ground, as it worked to establish the whereabouts of the missing.
"The widespread and significant destruction is likely to mean verified information will take some time to emerge," an MFAT spokesperson said.
Consular staff were now on the ground in Kathmandu, working with authorities and partners to urgently gather information and support the affected families, the spokesperson said.
New Zealand has pledged a $2 million humanitarian assistance package for Nepal, to support the Nepal Red Cross deliver emergency assistance including shelter, water and sanitation, MFAT said.
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