Authorities in Nepal are collecting blood samples from relatives of flood victims to aid identification efforts, as morgues fill and hundreds of bodies are buried without formal identification.
With over 1,000 confirmed dead and nearly 4,000 missing, officials are urging family members to provide DNA samples to help identify victims. The process has drawn participants from across Nepal and abroad, including Australian citizens seeking to locate missing relatives. Army officials are calling out names as relatives line up with identification documents and forms, preparing to give blood samples. This effort is critical as morgues are overwhelmed, forcing authorities to bury hundreds of bodies without identification. Parkrit Gurung, 19, is among those hoping her DNA will match her mother’s remains, while her father’s body was identified by her brother. Australian families have also sent DNA samples, with some relatives traveling to Nepal to assist in the search.
More than 37 people participated on the first day, with numbers increasing as the army expands facilities. In the upper Rasuwa district, families report limited government response, and some areas near the Chinese border remain cut off a week after the disaster. Lhakpa Gha, a survivor from the affected village of Timure, has lost seven relatives in the floods. She and her husband survived because they were in Kathmandu caring for grandchildren. Families in the region continue to call for more government support to locate missing loved ones and provide aid to affected communities.
Why it matters
Authorities urge relatives of missing and dead to provide blood samples as morgues reach capacity, but regional exposure does not prove that a specific storm was caused by climate change or that every coast faces equal risk.
This section reflects Dumpling editorial interpretation and is provided for context only.
What to watch
Watch for restoration of water, power and essential services in subsequent official updates.
This section reflects Dumpling editorial interpretation and is provided for context only.