Communities in Nepal devastated by severe flooding are facing difficult decisions over whether to rebuild their homes or relocate, as concerns grow over increasingly frequent natural disasters.

Matthew Hanning, chief executive of International Nepal Fellowship (INF) UK, told Premier Christian News that many families were still coming to terms with the destruction caused by floods at the end of August.

Hanning, who recently visited affected areas north of Kathmandu, described seeing entire villages swept away, with bridges carried miles downstream and homes left completely destroyed.

He said: “You could see the very clear line between the greenery that was still there and where the floods had been, over 100 feet high, which had been completely devastated.

“It was just quite shocking to see and to think this is where villages had been, this is where people's lives and livelihoods and communities had been, and just nothing left.”

Many displaced families have moved to temporary camps in Kathmandu, while others are considering returning to their land to rebuild.

However, Hanning said people were also questioning how they would find work and get their crops to market, after roads and bridges were destroyed.

He added that some survivors were still grieving loved ones who had died or remained missing.

The flooding has also had a significant impact on local churches.

Hanning said he had met pastors from a network of more than 100 churches in one affected district.

Four churches had been completely destroyed and more than ten partially damaged, while some pastors and congregation members were still missing.

Despite their own losses, he said church leaders were already considering how they could support the wider community, regardless of people's faith.

Christian organisations were among the first to provide emergency assistance following the disaster.

Hanning said INF and its local partners, including Good Neighbours Nepal, had helped provide support for around 1,500 people within days of the floods.

He said the organisations had been able to respond quickly because of established relationships with local communities, churches and government authorities.

International Nepal Fellowship has worked in the country for 74 years, initially focusing on people affected by leprosy, people with disabilities and other marginalised communities, but its work has since expanded to include disaster preparedness and emergency response, particularly following the devastating earthquake in 2015.

Hanning warned that further flooding and landslides were continuing to affect communities, with local partners increasingly concerned about the scale and frequency of disasters.

He said one pastor had recently told him that a church in a different river valley had been completely destroyed by separate flooding.

He added that communities which had rebuilt their lives following the 2015 earthquake were now facing devastation once again.

Reflecting on his visit, Hanning said one image had given him particular hope: small rice shoots beginning to grow through the mud and debris left behind by the floods.

He said: “The image that stuck with me most out of the visit to this area last week was not the kind of devastated houses or the flood line that you could see, but actually in the mud and in the silt there were rice shoots starting to grow again, which hadn't been planted because they were in the midst of this horrific debris.

“Fields where the silt and mud had just come down, and these shoots of rice were just starting to come up again.

“That was a powerful reminder that there is hope and how we can be salt and light and bring those green shoots of hope to the communities most affected, as we walk in Jesus' footsteps.”

Hanning, who joined the charity last year, said his Christian faith was central to his work, drawing inspiration from Isaiah 61 and Jesus' call to bring good news to the poor and comfort those who mourn.

He said prayer was particularly important at this time, asking Christians to remember families still waiting for news of missing relatives, those grieving loved ones and community leaders facing difficult decisions about where it would be safe to rebuild.

He also urged prayer for local churches and Christian organisations seeking to support everyone affected by the disaster, regardless of their faith.

You can listen to the full interview here: