Nepal floods: Father borrows $13, walks for days to search for missing son - Al Jazeera

**Kathmandu, Nepal –** In the wake of the deadliest monsoon‑season flooding the country has ever seen, a grieving father from the remote village of Barahapokhari in the Sankhuwasabha district has become a symbol of desperate perseverance. After the deluge swept away homes and roads, the man borrowed just $13 (approximately 1,750 Nepali rupees) from a neighbour and set out on foot, trudging through mud‑slicked hills for four days in an effort to locate his 12‑year‑old son, who was last seen being swept away by the torrent. Exhausted, he recounts sleeping under makeshift shelters and surviving on boiled rice and water he collected from flooded fields, clinging to the hope that his child might still be alive.

The personal tragedy unfolds against a national catastrophe that has claimed **1,127 lives** and left **more than 4,800 people missing**, according to Nepal Police. Rivers swollen by relentless monsoon rains and a sudden glacial‑lake outburst have inundated over 1.1 million residents across 30 districts. With morgues overflowing, authorities have resorted to mass burials, while the health system grapples with shortages of medicine and shelter. International aid has surged; India dispatched its **fifth relief shipment** of food, medicine, and temporary housing kits, and a coalition of NGOs is distributing emergency supplies in the hardest‑hit zones.

Facing a crisis that experts link to accelerating climate change, Nepal’s government has lodged formal claims for climate‑related compensation with **China, the United States and India**, arguing that rising temperatures intensify glacial melt and amplify flood risks. The appeals seek funding for reconstruction, early‑warning systems, and resilient infrastructure, while also pressing for a global commitment to reduce greenhouse‑gas emissions. As the nation mourns and rebuilds, stories like the father’s underscore both the human cost of the disaster and the urgent need for coordinated, climate‑smart disaster response.