Nepal floods unite Maidstone as 'single community'

A vigil has been held in Maidstone for everyone affected by the flash floods in Nepal that have now claimed 1,311 lives.

Thirty three people from the UK are among 5,330 still missing after devastating landslides and flash floods hit the Nepal-Tibet border on 26 August.

Friday night's candlelight service in Jubilee Square, organised by Maidstone Borough Council (MBC), follows a separate vigil held in Dartford on Thursday.

Major Ekbahadur Gurung, chair of the Maidstone Gurkha Nepalese Community, said "we come together as a single community when there is a tragedy like this".

Maidstone has a long military connection with the Nepalese and Gurkha community, with representatives asking to meet with the new mayor every year.

There are an estimated 600 Gurkhas based at the nearby Invicta Park Barracks, with 300 currently overseas.

Major Gurung believes the tragedy has unified the entire town.

He said: "No matter where you come from, we're all human beings...we come together and pray for good."

MBC councillor Dinesh Khadka agrees.

He said: "The community here in Maidstone has been so supportive, it's overwhelming..."

"I was having dinner in a Nepalese restaurant two days after the flood and a man came in asking where he could donate - that's an example of how people have been here."

Sarada Simkhada, a senior nurse at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, is among those missing alongside Julija Jakovicka, whose sister Tatajana Phillips is from Folkestone.

Pramod Poudel, from Uckfield in East Sussex, fears his wife, mother, brother and uncle will never be found, while Spandan Sahu, an 18-year-old from Surrey, is missing along with his father, mother, and sister.

Another vigil will be held at Gillingham's Hindu temple on Sunday.

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