UK and other embassies urge citizens to follow local guidance

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UK and other embassies urge citizens to follow local guidancepublished at 06:45

06:45

The embassies in Nepal of the UK, Australia, Finland, France, Norway, Switzerland, and the EU are encouraging their citizens in the areas affected by flooding to "follow the guidance of local authorities and official safety advisories".

"We are deeply saddened by the devastating flooding in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts and surrounding areas," they say in a joint statement.

"Our thoughts are with all those affected by this disaster. We express our solidarity with the people of Nepal during this difficult time."

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Yes. I can remember living in Hana, Maui in 1989 around the time of the Loma Prieta Earthquake when just a child said to me: "Why are you going to wailuku and Kahului today, it's going to rain!"

I had no idea what they were talking about so I took my family in our window van to the Wailuku and Kahului area of Maui because it was less expensive to buy food there than in Hana, Maui because it is so very remote and even T-Shirts say "I survived the Road to Hana".

So, on the way back it started to rain really hard and it got dark and the fact that Hana is in a rainforest is important here too. So, when a foot of water and rocks were coming off the 10 foot cliffs to my right and the water was coming across the front seat floors floorboards in the Window Van I realized we might not survive this because boulder and rocks were now hitting our wheels and the side of our Van.

So, instead of being washed off the cliff when the rear wheels of the van left the ground from floating on water I asked my whole family to go into the back of the van and jump up and down on the rear axles so we didn't die that day.

Luckily we were able to get enough forward motion during the times the rear wheels touched the road to not die that night coming back from shopping in Wailuku but you can bet I never went the "Road to Hana" on a rainy day ever again I had learned my lesson of my whole family almost dying that day.

Locals know what can happen often anywhere on earth and if you don't listen to them like I didn't that day you can die like we almost did.

 So, listen to locals in emergencies around the world because they know what can happen there.

Just like i say to people who don't live on the northern California Coast "Don't go onto rocks or the sand in a storm or you could easily die by being swept out by a rogue wave.

I have lived in California most of my life and I have almost been swept out to sea myself by rogue waves many times just because I wasn't watching when it came in behind me because I was talking or doing something else.

So, listen to locals around the world. They know what can happen and you likely don't.