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How 2015 Earthquake Lessons Guide Response to Nepal’s Recent “Himalayan Tsunami”
Long-term partnerships with Nepali organizations formed after the 2015 earthquake supported rapid medical aid following the August 2026 catastrophic flood and debris flows.
Staff with Mountain Heart Nepal cross the Trishuli River on Sept. 14, 2026, via zipline to deliver Direct Relief-provided aid to people evacuated after the floods. Access remains extremely limited to flooded areas of northern Nepal with many of the region's bridges destroyed. (Mountain Heart Nepal photo)
After the August 26th floods in Nepal, reports reaching Gordon Willcock in Kathmandu described families who had lost more than their homes. Willcock, Direct Relief’s Asia Pacific regional director, said that many farmers had lost what they knew as their land, after river valleys were buried in mud and silt.
Willcock, who was also on the ground after the devastating 2015 earthquakes in Nepal, which killed more than 8,000 people, described some key differences between the two disasters. With the August floods, given the scale of transformation, some communities might have to relocate altogether.
“In an earthquake, buildings in a localized area are destroyed, but then you can rebuild. In this disaster, it’s not like you can excavate and rebuild your house. It’s done,” Willcock said of the recent floods.
A paramedic and other staff with Dhulikhel Hospital carry a Direct Relief Emergency Medical Pack to offer medical aid to survivors of the recent floods in the Himalayan valley along the Nepal-Tibet border, on September 9, 2026, in Thrishuli, Nuwakot district, Nepal. (Photo by Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images for Direct Relief)
Both the remoteness of the impacted areas and geomorphic change introduced new challenges compared to the capital city-based earthquakes. Revealingly, locals felt the term “flood” failed to cover the totality of what occurred.
Residents called it a “Himalayan tsunami,” Willcock said of the flooding and debris flow that killed more than 1,400 people. More than 5,300 remain missing.
In 2015, following an earthquake registering at least 7.8-magnitude in strength, Willcock had flown from his home in Melbourne alongside journalists and search-and-rescue teams, arriving at a chaotic Kathmandu airport.
Damage from the 2015 earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Direct Relief photo)
Since Direct Relief’s network in-country at the time was sparse, much of his early work in the capital involved visiting hospitals, meeting as many relevant contacts as possible, and determining what they needed.
Many of those meetings resulted in partnerships that have spanned more than a decade. Dhulikhel Hospital was one of several groups involved in the 2015 earthquake response that deployed in the hours after the August 2026 floods with pre-positioned aid from Direct Relief.
Comparing Disaster Impacts: 2015 Earthquake vs. Recent Nepal Floods
As part of the ongoing flood response, Willcock wasn’t able to go to the most devastated areas due to infrastructure damage, but benefited from the relationships he had helped originate years prior. From Kathmandu, he could gather information from organizations responding in the affected valleys and help coordinate support.
Comparing the two natural disasters, Willcock said that medical needs differed.
He recalled sustained demand for trauma care after the 2015 earthquake, including treatment for crush injuries. After the August 2026 floods’ initial emergency, displacement and interrupted access to chronic disease medications quickly became central concerns, he said.
Flood-destroyed roads in rural areas compounded nearly every need, including access to food, shelter, medicine and electricity. Damaged roads also blocked patients’ access to functioning medical facilities; Dhulikhel Hospital sent doctors and surgeons by helicopter to support other hospitals and displaced people.
A health care worker from Dhulikhel Hospital takes the blood pressure of a woman in Nepal following the Bhote Koshi floods. Teams from the hospital were able to quickly deploy after the August 26, 2026 floods and have continued to provide medical aid since. (Direct Relief)
In a Sept. 11 update, Direct Relief reported that a Mountain Heart Nepal mission to Kalika Rural Municipality in Rasuwa district took nearly 12 hours, about twice the usual journey. The team delivered medical supplies and provided treatment and counseling.
Those efforts also address health risks beyond initial injuries: unsafe water, disrupted maternal care and the difficulty of maintaining treatment while displaced.
Local Partnerships Drive Rapid Emergency Medical Response
Medical aid from Direct Relief arrives at Tribhuvan International Airport on September 6, 2026, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Direct Relief’s Gordon Willcock (pictured here) received the shipment, which contained medical essentials including antibiotics, IV fluids, water purification supplies, and personal protective equipment to support communities affected by catastrophic flash flooding in northern Nepal. (Photo by Abhishek Chinnappa for Direct Relief)
For Willcock, strong, lasting partnerships provide what he called “the best disaster preparedness we have.”
Relationships established during the earthquake response, and maintained through subsequent support, allowed Direct Relief to identify needs more quickly and support organizations already reaching affected communities.
He described this response as more Nepal-led, with local charities, health workers and government agencies mobilizing rapidly. International organizations, he said, should strengthen that work and coordinate with existing authorities.
Sreejesh Parajuli, a paramedic with Dhulikhel Hospital carries a Direct Relief Emergency Medical Pack and enters a vehicle to travel to treat survivors of the recent floods in the Himalayan valley along the Nepal-Tibet border, on September 11, 2026, in Dhulikhel, Nepal. (Photo by Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images for Direct Relief)
The work ahead, Willcock cautioned, would stretch far beyond the emergency. Recent mudflows and wildfires, even in wealthy California communities such as Montecito and Malibu, have taken years, he noted.
As was the case after 2015, Willcock said Direct Relief will continue to respond to requested needs from local partners, who are now helping communities through another disaster.
“One main learning as an organization is the importance of having strong long-term partnerships, which become the best disaster preparedness we have. They’re the foundation from which we respond,” he said.
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