After two days of silence, an Australian hiker caught in Nepal’s catastrophic floods finally made contact with her family
When a natural disaster tears through a region, the hardest part for families is often the silence that follows. For Debbie and Frank Severino, that silence stretched across two agonizing days while they waited for any word from their 26-year-old daughter, Cara, who had been trekking in Nepal when historic flash floods struck.
The disaster began on August 26, when a massive glacial collapse in the Himalayas sent a torrent of water rushing along the Nepal-China border. The U.S. Geological Survey later compared the shaking caused by the landslide to a magnitude 5.2 earthquake, as Fox Weather reported. The floods swept through valleys, destroyed villages, and left a widening trail of death and destruction in their wake.
Cara was hiking through the Langtang Valley when the waters surged. She became stranded in Kyanjin Gompa, a remote mountain village known for its Buddhist monastery and popular with trekkers. Although she was not directly in the path of the worst floodwaters, the region’s communication networks collapsed almost immediately. Her phone battery had died, and with no way to reach out, her parents back in Sydney were left to wait and worry.
For 48 hours, they watched the death toll climb on their screens, powerless and desperate for any sign that their daughter was alive.
Then, unexpectedly, their phones lit up. Cara had managed to find a signal and left a voicemail — a small but profound moment that ended the nightmare of uncertainty for the Severino family.
The relief was quickly validated by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who confirmed that consular officials had located Cara and moved her to safety. Speaking to MamaMia, Wong described the development as a rare bright spot in a disaster that has caused immense suffering and loss.
In a statement, the Severinos said hearing their daughter’s voice was like receiving a “miraculous gift.”
“We are beyond relieved and so elated to have Cara safe and well, and we can’t wait to hold her in our loving arms,” they said, visibly overcome by the reversal of what had seemed like an unthinkable outcome.
The family credited Cara’s Nepalese trekking crew for their extraordinary support, singling out the guides who stayed with her and ensured her safety on the trail.
Cara herself echoed that gratitude in her own statement, saying she felt “blessed” and deeply thankful for the group she had formed on the first day of the trek when they entered the national park. She named Sudha, Lucas, Samir and Saugat as the people who helped her get out safely. “It’s thanks to these amazing people I got out safely,” she said. She also expressed deep sorrow for those still unaccounted for, adding, “I feel for the families of those still missing. I know how much my family and friends went through.”
While the Severinos celebrate their own reunion, the broader crisis in Nepal and across the border in China continues to escalate. According to CNN, the death toll has now surpassed 1,000, with more than 4,400 people still missing. Rescue teams are racing against time to reach hundreds of workers trapped inside flooded hydropower tunnels. The Guardian reports that dozens of Australians remain among the missing, underscoring how widely the disaster has touched communities far beyond the immediate region.
Mindful of their own fortune, the Severinos have urged the public to support relief efforts through the Emergency Action Alliance, a coalition of aid organizations responding to the crisis.
“The scale of this tragedy is staggering, and amidst our personal joy we continue to stand in prayer with the many families here in Australia, in Nepal and around the world who have lost loved ones or are still waiting to hear from them,” they said. “We know that the waiting is horrendous.”