Ottawa provides $5M to Nepal relief efforts as search continues for 32 Canadians

The federal government announced Friday it is to provide $5 million in urgent aid to support Nepal as scores of Canadian families anxiously wait for news about their relatives missing after severe flash flooding in the region.

A flash flood Wednesday along the Himalayan border between Nepal and China, caused by a glacial collapse, killed nearly 600 people and left almost 2,500 missing.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said 32 Canadians and permanent residents are missing in the region.

No Canadians are among the 121 foreign nationals who the Nepal Tourism Board said had been rescued.

Entire villages have been wiped out in the region, with major roads, bridges, electricity systems and other critical infrastructure severely damaged. Officials said the loss of telecommunications has hindered efforts to account for victims.

Ottawa said its $5-million contribution is to go toward organizations such as the Red Cross to deliver life-saving assistance to people on the ground.

Anisha and Saumya Grover said no one has heard from their parents since the flash flooding. 

Their 55-year-old father, Anil Grover, and 50-year-old mother, Samira Grover, were crossing the Nepal-Tibet border at the Gyirong Port when the flooding hit.

The couple from Markham, Ont., were to embark on a pilgrimage through Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus, Buddhists and others.

“It has been a nightmare of trying to get answers, trying get to updates, trying to locate them,” Anisha Grover said in a telephone interview, adding they have received little information from Global Affairs Canada. 

The family is Hindu, but Anisha Grover said the more religious one is her mother, who is active in their local temple and the Isha Foundation, a non-profit spiritual organization. 

“I think the part that really hurts is that our parents, they have done everything for us, and we really encouraged them to go on this trip and enjoy themselves,” the 25-year-old said.

Saumya Grover, 18, said it has been difficult not to imagine the worst. In looking for answers online about her parents’ whereabouts, she has come across disturbing images of casualties. 

“Even the video of the flash flood itself hitting the immigration centre, it was really difficult to watch,” she said. “It just takes your mind to the worst circumstances and the worst possible outcome.”

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescuers from the People’s Armed Police Force search for victims at the mudslide-hit area near Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, in Xigaze, southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Liu Shuang/Xinhua via AP)

Global Affairs has said it deployed five consular officials to Kathmandu to support Canadians and work with local officials. Anand said Friday more can be sent if needed.

“Nepal is facing a devastating humanitarian emergency with catastrophic damage,” Anand told a news conference.

She said Global Affairs is aware of 866 Canadians who are in Nepal.

Dhaval and Megha Shah, a couple from Port Moody, B.C., are also among the missing Canadians, said a relative.

Nikita Shah, Dhaval Shah’s cousin, said Thursday that the couple was on a spiritual journey in Nepal and family last heard from them Tuesday night.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has urged Canadians in the region to sign up for Registration of Canadians Abroad, a free service that lets the federal government contact and assist citizens during an emergency in other countries.

Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development said an avalanche from a glacier likely caused the flooding.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2026.

— With files from The Associated Press

By Daniela Germano | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.