Residents of Nepal’s Upper Mustang living in New York have raised $104,688 to support people affected by the Bhotekoshi floods and landslides in Nepal.

The money was raised through the Woodside-based Lo-Nyamship Association USA Inc., with contributions from people, predominantly from Lo Manthang and Lo Ghekar Damodarkunda rural municipalities, along with well-wishers in the United States and elsewhere.

The association said the amount, equivalent to around Rs16.05 million, was transferred to Nepal’s Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund on September 28.

The funds are intended to support families displaced by the floods and landslides and help them recover from the disaster.

“Standing by our motherland in times of crisis is a shared responsibility of all Nepalis living abroad,” the association said in a statement.

The Bhotekoshi and Trisuli rivers and their tributaries caused widespread destruction in northern and central Nepal after intense rainfall in late August. The flooding damaged homes, roads, bridges and hydropower projects, leaving hundreds dead and thousands missing.

Established in 2014, Lo-Nyamship Association USA Inc. is a non-profit organisation based in Queens that works to preserve the culture, language and Buddhist heritage of Upper Mustang and promote social unity among the community.

The association has more than 1,000 members. In December 2020, it purchased a community building in Woodside for $3.8 million, creating a permanent community centre for people from the Himalayan region living in the United States.