An Australian woman missing in Nepal’s deadly floodwaters has confirmed she is alive in a message to her family.

Cara Severino, 26, from Wollongong, south of Sydney, had been on a multi-day hike on the Langtang trek when flooding struck.

She became stranded at Kyangjia Gompa but was able to make brief contact with her parents on Friday morning.

‘Our daughter Cara Severino has made contact with us this morning. She was hiking the Langtang trek and was stranded at Kyangjia Gompa. With communications down we had no contact,’ her parents Frank and Debbie Severino said in a statement.

‘This morning she was able to call us from Gosainkunda where she has been able to reach along with some other Nepalese hikers.

‘We understand that they are attempting to reach Kathmandu on foot.

‘We eagerly await more information about her safe return. We praise God that she has been able to make this brief contact with us. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the families awaiting news.’

It comes as at least 38 other Australians remain missing in the Himalayan region, with the death toll continuing to climb.

Cara Severino, 26, from Wollongong, south of Sydney, had been on a multi-day hike on the Langtang trek when flooding struck

The 26-year-old has made brief contact with her family

The horror began after an ice avalanche triggered massive floodwaters near the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday morning, local time.

Nepalese police have now confirmed that 477 people died, with more than 1,300 from various countries around the world still unaccounted for.

The number of Australians missing rose from 35 to 39 overnight, Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed on Friday. This number includes Ms Severino.

‘Obviously, it’s a very difficult situation. It’s a remote location,’ Wong told ABC Radio National.

‘So we are urgently working to identify how many Australians are in, or have been in, the region, and to confirm the welfare of any Australians who are not accounted for.’

Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials have been deployed to the region to assist with recovery and identification efforts.

‘The extraordinary scale of this disaster and the remoteness of the affected region mean immense challenges lie ahead for the response and recovery,’ Wong said.

Community vigils were held in Sydney and Melbourne on Thursday night.

Close to 500 people have been killed in the deadly Nepal floods

Rescue workers are seen trekking through the Xizang Autonomous Region of China

An elderly survivor is seen being transported to safety

Of the Australians reported missing, 15 were confirmed to be travelling with US-based tour operator Himalayan Glacier Adventures at the time the natural disaster struck.

Umesh and Krishna Sharma were travelling with the group when disaster struck, with their desperate son Chitrak now trying everything he can to find his parents.

Speaking to 9News, Chitrak said the pair were ‘very excited’ to embark on the tour.

‘I’ve just been trying to get in contact with them … calling hospitals. I just want to find my parents. They’re all I have, really,’ he said.

‘I would do anything just to bring them home.’

The Iyer family from Sydney’s north-west are also missing. They were also on the tour.

Sridharan Iyer, Roopa Sridhar, Rudhra Sreedharan Iyer and Rishabh Sridharan Iyer were last known to be in Kathmandu.

Fellow Sydneysiders Chandrasekaran and Shylaja Muralitharan, along with their young sons Ashwin and Aarush, were on the same tour.

Umesh and Krishna Sharma are among the 35 Australians reported missing following devastating floods along the Nepal-Tibet border

A family friend shared an urgent plea to find the Iyer family (above), from Sydney, following devastating floods in Nepal

Couple Shylaja Muralitharan (left) and Chandrasekaran Muralitharan (right) from northwest Sydney are missing in Nepal’s floods

Chandrasekaran and Shylaja Muralitharan are unaccounted for alongside their two young sons, Ashwin and Aarush (above)

Chitra Venkatraman (above) was on the Himalayan Glacier Trekking tour

Venkatraman Balakrishnan (above) went missing in Nepal’s floods on Wednesday

Sagar Pandey, the founder of Himalayan Glacier Trekking, said he lost contact with the group of 47, including 15 Australians, following the disaster in the Rasuwa area.

Also missing are NSW couple Venkatraman Balakrishnan, 52, and his wife Chitra Venkatraman, 46, along with Kanagamah Sundrasan, a mother-of-two and business owner in Queensland.

Many of the missing Australians, and other tourists in the region, had travelled to the area for a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet.

The mountain is a sacred place in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bon. Summer, from June to August, is the most popular time of year for the trek.

Most of the missing Australians were part of two tours in the area, the Himalayan Glacier Trekking group and a second organised by Kailash Journeys.

Another 11 Australians were travelling with the Isha Foundation, a spiritual non-profit, when the disaster struck.

Smartraveller has updated its travel advice, urging Australians to exercise a high degree of caution because of major flash flooding and a mudslide.

Australians in need of urgent help should contact DFAT’s 24-hour consular emergency centre.

Source: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16086709/nepal-floods-australian-alive.html?ito=social-facebook_Australia&ito=social-facebook_Australia&fbclid=IwY2xjawT_d3JwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMWpYZWdJdGJWa2VFS0RlelFzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEevWQL11StFfcxdYJ7s_5HCCVf8SsDfASa7Gbnh1Dk39yt5b4QTvOEUJ4Wp-0_aem_oT6aqiU4cnetgrQyeTJuIA