Kathmandu, Sept. 16 -- On September 7, Vichitra Jain stood outside the Nepal Tourism Board in Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu, carrying a photograph of a friend who vanished on a trip to Kailash. Officials and tourism leaders had gathered inside to mourn those killed in the Bhotekoshi disaster.

The ceremony ended. The officials left. The gate was shut. Jain stayed looking for answers.

She was one of three foreigners outside that day, waiting for news of missing relatives and friends. Jain had travelled from India after her Russian friend, Kirill Tretiakov, disappeared, likely in the flood. She still does not know whether he is alive or dead. "I don't know where to go or how to search," she said that evening. "No one has helped us."

After the...