London, September 3: British actress Dame Joanna Lumley joined a vigil in southeast London on Thursday to remember victims of the devastating flash floods in Nepal, describing the disaster as “heartbreaking” and warning of the impact of human activity and climate change.
Around 50 people gathered at Panas Gurkha Restaurant in Blackheath, where they observed a minute’s silence, lit candles and offered prayers for those killed or still missing in the floods.
Lumley, who has longstanding ties with Nepal and the Gurkha community, said the disaster in northern Nepal on August 26 could potentially have been anticipated in view of growing concerns over climate change and melting Himalayan glaciers.
“I think… around the world our hearts have been absolutely broken by what happened in Nepal,” Lumley said during the vigil.
She said the effects of human activity, including the burning of fossil fuels, were contributing to a warmer and increasingly vulnerable planet.
The actress said her personal connection with Nepal made the disaster particularly distressing, adding that she understood the difficulties of travelling through the country’s mountainous terrain.
The United States Geological Survey said a magnitude 5.2 seismic event struck near the Nepal-China border and that a glacial collapse and debris flow subsequently caused catastrophic impacts downstream.
Rescue operations have been complicated by concerns over further flooding from a lake formed following the glacier collapse.
According to Nepal’s Foreign Ministry, 1,252 people had died in the floods and around 4,200 remained missing, including 590 foreign nationals.
In the UK, Foreign Office minister Lord Wood of Anfield told the House of Lords on Tuesday that 36 British nationals were still unaccounted for, up from an earlier figure of 33.
Lumley, who is patron of healthcare charity Doctors for Nepal and vice patron of The Gurkha Welfare Trust, said the scale of the disaster demonstrated the vulnerability of Himalayan communities to environmental changes.
She has frequently visited Nepal and has a strong association with the Gurkha community. Her father served with the 6th Gurkha Rifles of the British Indian Army during the Second World War.
Also attending Thursday’s vigil were Vice Lord-Lieutenant Colonel Jane Davis, former Coronation Street actress Sally Lindsay, drummer Steve White and Greenwich Mayor David Wardrop.
The vigil came as rescue and relief operations continued in Nepal following the catastrophic floods, with families and communities mourning those who lost their lives and awaiting news of people still missing.
