WATCH ABOVE: Albertans with family and friends in Nepal anxiously wait for word on their loved ones. Fletcher Kent reports.
EDMONTON — Beverly Williams of Red Deer has contacted her family to say she is safe after the earthquake in Nepal. Williams was hiking with a tour group at the time of the natural disaster, and her family hadn’t heard from her for days.
Williams is the partner of Red Deer Liberal candidate Michael Dawe.
“She was about two days out of Kathmandu when the earthquake hit and we haven’t heard anything since,” he said Monday. “We haven’t heard from either her or the tour company.”
However, Dawe had a welcome update to share on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
“I am very pleased this morning to say Beverly has been in touch. She was in the earthquake but is safe. Thank you everyone for your support.”
Dawe said he learned of the news when their daughter called him Tuesday morning.
He said a business partner of Williams’ who was in Kathmandu managed to track down her whereabouts and confirmed she is OK. Williams later tweeted that she is safe, but described her experience as horrible.
Dawe said the family can now work on getting her home as soon as possible, although he’s not sure when that may be.
“I don’t know if she’s made it to Kathmandu yet or not,” he said. “The Kathmandu airport is closed, so now the logistics of getting her home will be next, but there hasn’t been time to work
out all that.
“There’s just the relief … that she’s safely found.”
During an interview with Global News on Monday, Dawe explained Williams runs a woolen goods import company and likes to meet the artists that make the product. She finished doing business in the area and then arranged to be part of a hike.
“She was all excited and she was leaving the next day… She said ‘we’ll be in touch in a week when I get back from the hike.'”
Dawe said he and his daughter were trying to remain hopeful.
“In your head you go … ‘Look, she was on the trail in the middle of the day… The chances are, when the earthquake hit, she was out on open ground… You think… she should be fine, and that’s your head.
“Your heart? What the heck happened? We don’t know.”
Dawe said the region’s communication and transportation systems have completely collapsed.
“You go through times when you’re incredibly emotional.
“We have a daughter… I talk to her every half hour or every hour… Just have to keep saying, well, we’ve heard that she’s not on a casualty list… We just don’t know where she is. But that’s hard.”
Meanwhile, Edmonton’s Nepalese community had a moment of silence at temple over the weekend.
Those who spoke to Global News said everyone in the community is impacted in some way. Some have lost family and friends, others are still waiting to hear from loved ones, fearing the worst.
“I was worried for the whole country as my family, but especially when it comes to your own family member, you can’t put it in words,” explained Sarah Lamichhane, who has family in Nepal.
Canada’s Disaster Assistance Response Team is on its way to the disaster zone. The relief effort includes search and rescue crews, medical specialists and engineers.
With files from CKGY, The Canadian Press
*NOTE: This article was originally published on April 27. It was updated on April 28 when Dawe heard Williams was safe.