How 2015 Earthquake Lessons Guide Response to Nepal’s Recent “Himalayan Tsunami”

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.

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.

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.

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.

Supplies positioned before the disaster helped local teams begin responding immediately. Dhulikhel Hospital deployed with Direct Relief emergency medical backpacks already on hand. Another 14 tons of medical aid arrived in Kathmandu on Sept. 6, including antibiotics, IV fluids and medications for chronic conditions.

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

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.

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.