Australia will send crisis and humanitarian response specialists to Nepal and provide $5 million in assistance as the search continues for 39 Australians missing after the catastrophic floods along the Nepal-China border.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was deploying personnel to support the international response and help Australian officials trying to locate those unaccounted for.
“Australia is sending crisis and humanitarian response specialists to help after the devastating Nepal-China floods,” Albanese said on Friday.
The government will initially deploy three humanitarian specialists through the Australia Assists program. They have experience in disaster assessment, logistics, communications and planning and are expected to leave within 48 hours.
A Crisis Response Team member and a regional consular officer have already arrived in Kathmandu. Further consular officers and crisis personnel are being prepared for deployment.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia had about 20 officials in Nepal and expected four more consular officers to arrive within 24 hours.
DFAT is handling 43 consular cases linked to the disaster. At least 39 Australians remain unaccounted for, an increase from the 35 known to authorities on Thursday.
Wong said the four additional Australians were believed to have been travelling separately from the pilgrimage and tour groups already identified. She warned the number could rise as officials examined reports from families and travel companies.
Albanese said the government was working urgently to establish the welfare of the missing travellers.
“Our thoughts are with the loved ones of those affected as we urgently work to confirm the welfare of missing Australians,” he said.
Among those unaccounted for are Indian Australian families and children who were travelling to or returning from Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar.
Fifteen were with Himalayan Glacier Adventures, while 11 Australians were among an 80-member Isha Foundation pilgrimage group that lost contact while completing immigration formalities at Gyirong in Tibet.
The Australian assistance package includes $2 million for the World Food Programme, which has dispatched food rations and provided logistical assistance to Nepal’s emergency response.
A further $2 million will be distributed to Australian non-government organisations through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership for shelter, hygiene kits, blankets, medical care and psychosocial assistance.
The remaining $1 million will go to the Emergency Action Alliance to support recovery led by organisations in affected communities.
The aid package includes $2 million for Australian NGOs to provide shelter, hygiene supplies, blankets, medical care and psychosocial support, with another $1 million directed to locally led recovery efforts
“We’re also providing humanitarian assistance including food, emergency shelter and medical support,” Albanese said.
At least 392 people have been confirmed dead across Nepal and Tibet and close to 1,500 remain missing. Hundreds of those unaccounted for are foreign pilgrims, tourists and workers from more than 30 countries.
Roads, bridges, border facilities, power projects and communications networks were destroyed after glacial ice and rock collapsed high in the Himalayas, sending mud, water and debris through communities below.
The remote terrain and damage to transport routes have left some towns and villages accessible only by helicopter. Authorities are also monitoring lakes formed behind debris amid fears that a natural barrier could collapse and release another flood.
The federal Greens have argued that the $5 million package is too small for the scale of the disaster and called for Australia to make a stronger commitment to Nepal’s recovery. The Coalition has supported the deployment of Australian assistance.
Albanese urged Australians requiring urgent help to contact DFAT’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre.
“Australians in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the DFAT’s Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 if calling from overseas,” he said.
Smartraveller has advised Australians in affected parts of Nepal and China to contact their families or travel providers, avoid flood-hit areas and follow the instructions of local authorities.
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