An Australian woman, Renee, is missing after flash floods struck Gyirong Port in Nepal, and her family is fundraising to travel from Australia to join the search in one of the hardest-hit areas. Her sister, Clair Spry, has set up a GoFundMe page to help Renee's partner Shaun and their daughters, Lily and Ruby, get to Nepal. Shaun, an emergency nurse, wants to travel to the port to look for any signs of Renee, and their daughters do not want him to go alone.
Arrival minutes before the flood
Renee, a disability support worker from the Sunshine Coast, arrived at Gyirong Port just 10 minutes before the flood struck. The area was one of the hardest hit, with images from Chinese rescue teams showing the area completely flattened. Huge buildings, power lines, and everything were wiped away. Renee has been with Shaun since they were 15, and they share two daughters in their 20s.
Spry said her sister would hate the attention and would want it focused on the Nepali people who have been displaced or are in need of aid. "Her focus right now would not be on her; it would be on the families," Spry said. "So many people, the Nepalese people, that have been horribly displaced and traumatised. She would want the attention on them and how we are going to help them."
Family's hope amid realistic outlook
Renee's family understands how dire the situation is and how unlikely it is that she, or anyone in that same area, survived. But until they know for certain, they would hold hope, Spry said. "Everyone's very realistic. We know how bad this was and where she was. But until they find her, everyone's got this little slither of hope that maybe she's stuck somewhere and can't get out, or she's injured," she said. "I've been looking through pictures trying to identify someone or see her. But we understand the reality of this situation."
Spry described her sister as a "deeply spiritual" person who loved to help people. "She had two degrees, and she chose to do something that was … a completely selfless vocation. Her priority was always other people," she said. "Every person she touched, they knew her love and kindness. She would be so uncomfortable with all this."
Another Australian confirmed dead
The family of Michael Keats, an Australian who had been near the Tibet-Nepal border when flash flooding began, confirmed his death in posts to social media on Sunday. Keats's wife, Emily Boyd, said on Instagram he had been on a pilgrimage to Mt Kailash that had been a "dream for many years". "Mike went on a pilgrimage to Mt Kailash seeking enlightenment," Boyd said. "There's a bittersweetness knowing that there was nothing more that Mike wanted then to know God, and to merge with the divine."
Boyd described Keats as "a mystic, a medicine man, a teacher, leader, partner, father, brother, son, uncle and dearly beloved friend. He showed up for so many people in so many ways. A heart of pure gold. We love you forever and always."
Spry also highlighted the broader impact of the climate crisis, noting that the poorest people of the world are most affected. "This is something the poorest people of the world are affected by. It's not the New Yorkers, it's the people who are in these parts of the world. For Renee, that would be heartbreaking," she said. The family's fundraising effort aims to enable Shaun and their daughters to join the search, with the hope of finding Renee or bringing her home.
