A severe thunderstorm that lasted for just 30 minutes has killed at least 27 people in southern Nepal overnight.
More than 700 people were injured after heavy rain accompanied by hailstorm and strong winds left a trail of destruction in Bara and Parsa districts, located about 62 kilometres south of the capital Kathmandu.
The storm uprooted trees, downed power and telephone poles.
Local media outlets reported public buses seen upturned with passengers inside, and many houses made from mud had also collapsed.
Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli offered condolences to the families of the victims and promised “immediate rescue and relief”.
Rajesh Paudel, the Chief District Officer of Bara district told the BBC that a high number of the injured are in a severe condition so the death toll could increase.
Locals hospitals have been inundated with injured people and locals have started a voluntary blood collection.
Help from Australia
Meanwhile, members of Australia’s Nepali community have also started raising funds for those impacted by the thunderstorms.
Arun Kumar Thakur is the President of the Association of Nepal Tarai in Australia (ANTA). Many of the group's members are from the southern part of Nepal, which was affected by the storm.
Mr Thakur, who lives in Sydney, says he received news about the tragedy around 3 am this morning and immediately started working to provide relief support to the victims.
“Many of my friends in Nepal worked overnight to recover dead bodies. It’s hard for me to find words to describe the tragedy” - Arun Kumar Thakur.
Mr Thakur says they’ve started fundraising and are liaising with local partners in Nepal to arrange food, tents, and sanitary pads for women affected by the storm.
“We’re urging people to give up a cup of coffee for today and instead donate the money for the victims”.
So far we've received a lot of support from the members of the community in Australia", he says.
Dila Kharel, the Australian spokesperson for Non-Resident Nepali Association, a global network of Nepalis living outside the country says they’re currently getting reports of up to 40 houses being damaged and the association is now working to provide relief supplies to those people.
“We’ll be using money from our emergency relief fund to provide urgent family pack, consisting of food items and clothing for the victims”, says Mr Kharel.
