North Texas groups mobilize aid after devastating floods in Nepal

For thousands of families in North Texas, images of catastrophic flooding in Tibet and northern Nepal are not from some distant disaster. They are from home.

Floodwaters have washed away homes, roads and communications, leaving more than 400 people reported dead and thousands missing.

North Texas helps Nepal flood victims

What we know:

North Texas is home to the largest Nepalese population in the United States, and the Nepalese Society of Texas is trying to turn helplessness into help.

The group is raising money to send to Nepal through the country’s Prime Ministerial Disaster Fund.

"It’s very devastating. All the routes are gone. All communication is interrupted. So it’s a very dire situation. I cannot express how dire the situation is until you go to the local place," said Bijah Bhusal with the Nepalese Society of Texas.

"We are asking this help to help where we were born. We were born in Nepal, and we are here. So, any kind of help from our native community plus the local community, that’s what we are asking for. And then help from everyone," said Baikuntha Tsapa with the Nepalese Society of Texas.

That call for help is already reaching beyond the Nepalese community.

Texans on Mission send supplies

What they're saying:

Texans on Mission is preparing to send clean-water supplies to affected villages, including about 100 gravity-fed bucket filters.

"What you see here behind me, is a bucket filter. It’s gravity fed. It’s meant to provide access to clean drinking water for folks who have no electricity," said John Hall with Texans on Mission. "This can meet the needs of up to about 10 people at a time."

The filters are only the start. Texans on Mission is also sending food, cookware and a five-person strike team.

"When everything is washed away, they don’t have electricity, they don’t have plumbing, they don’t have housing, they don’t have food," Hall said.

The team has experience in Nepal and will work with partners already on the ground.

"These are highly specialized, highly experienced folks that we’re sending over to Nepal, who have spent time in Nepal. They know the culture, they’re familiar with the language, they’re familiar with how the communities work, and so they’re going to go hand in hand with our long-term partners to begin making a difference as quickly as possible," said Hill.

Dig deeper:

The initial team expects to spend two to three weeks in Nepal, helping people through the immediate crisis before beginning the much longer work of recovery.

"This is the time to help. Let’s unite the community," Tsapa said. "First of all, we are human beings. Wherever we live, wherever we were born, it doesn’t matter."

What's next:

The Nepalese Society of Texas says monetary donations are its top priority because physical goods are difficult to send.