Interview with Sally Sara, ABC Radio National
Transcript, E&OE Subjects: Nepal and China flood disaster. 28 August 2026 Sally Sara, Host: More than 390 people have been killed and more than 1,400 people are missing following the devastating flash floods along the border region between Nepal and China. The Australian Government is urgently seeking an update on the welfare of at least 39 missing Australians.
That number has gone up, so that's now 39. The Government has also announced a $5 million assistance package for affected communities. Senator Penny Wong is the Minister for Foreign Affairs and joins me now.
Minister, welcome back to Breakfast. Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Good morning. Good to be with you.
What update can you provide on the missing Australians after this flash flooding? What do we know? Foreign Minister: First, I'd say this is obviously an awful disaster and we are focusing on mobilising more consular support, more humanitarian support, and working to confirm the welfare of missing Australians.
The advice to date is we have some 43 consular cases with 39 Australians unaccounted for. You might recall yesterday I indicated we knew of 35, we understand an additional four Australians who are unaccounted for were travelling separately to these tours and we have been contacting the families of Australians unaccounted for and taking calls from the public in relation to anybody who was in the region.
Minister, are you expecting that the number of Australians missing could rise further still? Foreign Minister: That is an unfortunate possibility. Obviously, it's a very difficult situation, it's a remote location, so we are urgently working to identify how many Australians are and have been in the region and to confirm the welfare of any Australians who are not accounted for.
The Australian Government is deploying crisis response experts to the region. Can you outline how many, where they'll be working from and what they'll be doing? Foreign Minister: We've deployed additional staff, so we have now around 20 staff in Nepal.
We will have a further four officers, consular officers, in the next 24 hours. And we are also deploying an initial team of three humanitarian response specialists within the next couple of days. These are people who have expertise in logistics, humanitarian assessment and communications and planning.
Obviously, we will keep looking to build as required over the coming days, but we want to get initially some people to support the Australian officers who are already on the ground working in very challenging conditions. How difficult is it to get communication out of the affected areas right now? Foreign Minister: Communications is challenging, but I think the key issue is we still don't have a sense yet of the whereabouts of so many people.
I think the numbers you outlined at the commencement of the interview, we have many hundreds of people who are missing, as well as those who have been confirmed dead. I think it was close to 1,500 people who are missing so, obviously there's a lot of work to be done to try and ascertain where people are. How challenging is this situation, given that there are concerns about possible further flooding and instability in the mountains in that area?
Foreign Minister: Obviously, this is a concerning situation. We will continue to ensure that the advice on Smartraveller reflects the most recent information that the Australian Government receives, including from our officers in Kathmandu, in Nepal. So, I would encourage anyone, any Australian, who is in the region to ensure they are monitoring Smartraveller and listening to the advice of local authorities.
As you said, it's a challenging situation. I think you indicated in your introduction we are providing some additional humanitarian support. A total of $5 million, $2 million to the World Food Programme, $2 million to Australian NGOs who work through the Humanitarian Partnership, and $1 million to what's known as the Emergency Action Alliance.
I was asked yesterday, Sally, about if people wanted to donate and if you go to emergencyaction.org.au if people wish to donate, there is an appeal available there for people to contribute to. Is the Federal Government considering whether to send ADF personnel to assist? Foreign Minister: I'm speaking to the Nepalese Foreign Minister later today, subject to availability, and obviously we will talk to them about what's required.
We generally deploy response teams who have experience in logistics and communications and planning, as I said that tends to be the people from Australia that we deploy. How much do you feel for the diaspora members at the moment as people are waiting for information, Minister? Foreign Minister: Look, I know this is an extremely distressing time.
First for those who have loved ones unaccounted for, and we are thinking of them. Our thoughts are also with the Australian Tibetan and Nepalese communities. Minister, thank you for joining me this morning.
Foreign Minister: Thanks very much, Sally.