--- title: "Prayer for Families of the Missing After a Flood or Storm: Where to Ask, What Helps, and Psalm 13 for the Wait" description: "Somebody you love has not been found after the Nepal floods, Typhoon Dujuan or the Java Sea ferry. Where to ask tonight, what helps, and Psalm 13 for the wait." url: "https://biblenudge.com/blog/prayer-for-families-of-the-missing-after-a-disaster" lang: "en" published: "2026-09-23" modified: "2026-09-27" author: "Cal Hewitt" tags: ["missing","disaster","waiting","psalm 13","nepal floods","prayer"] image: "https://biblenudge.com/og/blog-prayer-for-families-of-the-missing-after-a-disaster.jpg" alternates: es: "https://biblenudge.com/es/blog/oracion-por-las-familias-de-los-desaparecidos.md" --- # Prayer for Families of the Missing After a Flood or Storm: Where to Ask, What Helps, and Psalm 13 for the Wait [Cal Hewitt](https://biblenudge.com/about/cal-hewitt)Published September 23, 2026Updated September 27, 2026 - missing - disaster - waiting - psalm 13 - nepal floods - prayer ![Prayer for Families of the Missing After a Flood or Storm: Where to Ask, What Helps, and Psalm 13 for the Wait](https://biblenudge.com/blog/prayer-for-families-of-the-missing-after-a-disaster/featured.jpg) If somebody you love has not been found after this week's floods or storms, start with an official place to ask, then words for the wait. In Nepal, flash floods on the Bhote Koshi began on 26 August, [Nepal's foreign ministry](https://mofa.gov.np/content/1876/daily-situation-update-on-the-bhote-koshi/) says. News reports on 20 and 21 September gave the national disaster authority's count as 1,451 dead and about 6,000 missing, and an [AP report](https://apnews.com/article/4a985b913c81092d7af892a576b0b7f0) in September, citing the same authority, gave 6,150 missing. In Japan, [The Japan Times](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/09/23/japan/typhoon-dujuan-nine-dead/) reported on 23 September that Typhoon Dujuan had left nine dead and four missing after landslides in Chiba and Kanagawa. In Indonesia, the ferry KM Virgo Transport 8 overturned in the Java Sea on its way from Surabaya to Banjarmasin. [AP reported on 18 September](https://apnews.com/article/02c7a39738355566be3e92babaa287b0) nine confirmed dead and 126 still missing, and [Basarnas](https://palembang.basarnas.go.id/berita/penyelam-bsg-temukan-dua-korban-km-virgo-transport-8-dievakuasi-dengan-helikopter-hr-3601), the national search and rescue agency, said on 21 September that the search was continuing. These numbers were changing day by day, and none is final. ## Update, September 27, 2026 In Nepal, [The Kathmandu Post reported on September 26](https://kathmandupost.com/visual-stories/2026/09/26/a-month-on-nepal-flood-victims-remain-missing-as-hope-and-posters-fade), citing the national disaster authority, 1,453 dead and around 5,285 people still missing. In Indonesia, [AP reported on September 27](https://apnews.com/article/3edceb04a03745378a7f5e769b9832e0) 64 dead, 108 rescued and 71 still missing from the KM Virgo Transport 8, and that the search had been extended for seven days. Neither count is final. The routes below remain the official places to ask: the Nepal foreign ministry line, the rescue portal, the Tanjung Perak Port family post in Surabaya and the police Call Center 110. ## Where to ask tonight - **Nepal, for foreign nationals affected by or missing in the Rasuwa flood:** the [Ministry of Foreign Affairs Emergency Control Room](https://www.mofa.gov.np/content/1862/notice--emergency-control-room--for-assistance/), on WhatsApp or hotline +977-9744441227 and +977-9744441228, 6am to 10pm Nepal time, or emergency@mofa.gov.np. - **Nepal, for anyone:** the [official rescue portal](https://rescue.opmcm.gov.np/), which has a report-a-missing-person function, and [Nepal Police's 2 September notice](https://www.nepalpolice.gov.np/notices/1425/) on how a family member in Nepal or a close relative abroad can register with them. - **The Indonesian ferry:** [Indonesian National Police](https://inp.polri.go.id/artikel/police-established-km-virgo-transport-8-integrated-post-for-victims-families) set up an integrated post for families at Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, and a [police Call Center, 110](https://tribratanews.polri.go.id/blog/nasional-3/hari-ini-helikopter-polri-evakuasi-2-jenazah-114-korban-km-virgo-transport-8-telah-ditemukan-105961). - **Typhoon Dujuan:** use Restoring Family Links, below, and the local city office where your relative was staying. - **Anybody separated from family by a disaster:** the Red Cross and Red Crescent [Restoring Family Links](https://familylinks.icrc.org/frequently-asked-questions) service says, "Have you lost contact with a family member because of a conflict, a natural disaster or migration? We can help bring your family back together." The first step is to contact it in the country where you are living, through its [directory](https://familylinks.icrc.org/directory). - **In the United States:** the American Red Cross [International Reconnecting Families Inquiry Form](https://www.redcross.org/contact-us/international-reconnecting-families-inquiry-form.html) puts you in touch with a caseworker. ## If you only have a minute ### Tonight One call or form to the official route for your country, or to the Red Cross. ### Words for the wait [Psalm 13:1-2](https://biblenudge.com/context/psalm-13-1-2), which asks God "How long?" and keeps asking. ### For a friend An offer with a day in it, like dinner on Thursday with no need to answer the door. ### From far away [Romans 12:15](https://biblenudge.com/context/romans-12-15), "Weep with those who weep." ## Psalm 13, for the wait itself The passage Bible Nudge offers for waiting is Psalm 13:1-2: > How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me? The prayer carries on: > 3 Behold, and answer me, Yahweh, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death; 4 Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him”; Lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall. 5 But I trust in your loving kindness. My heart rejoices in your salvation. Psalm 13 is a short prayer of complaint. It asks "how long" four times and turns toward trust only later. What it gives you is permission to ask God how long, as often as the night needs, in words already in the Bible. It is also a prayer a friend can pray for the family, with their names in it. Read it aloud once, or pray it for them, and then hold the question the site keeps beside it: "What have you been waiting for longer than you expected?" You can reread [Psalm 13:1-2 with the verses around it](https://biblenudge.com/context/psalm-13-1-2) at any hour. ![A small battery radio on a windowsill beside a blank notepad and a pencil, at night](https://biblenudge.com/blog/prayer-for-families-of-the-missing-after-a-disaster/the-radio.jpg) *The hours between calls.* ## What the wait is like The UK charity [Missing People](https://www.missingpeople.org.uk/for-professionals/policy-and-research/information-and-research/what-does-ambiguous-loss-mean), drawing on the researcher Pauline Boss, describes a missing person as "physically absent yet psychologically present," and says uncertainty and lack of information can be traumatic and can "freeze the grief process." Boss calls this ambiguous loss, in an [interview with the American Psychological Association](https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/ambiguous-loss). It has a name, and a family living inside it is not waiting the wrong way. In an [AP report from July 2025](https://apnews.com/article/12b6b59b169a2fac9146ede7caf906b0) on families of the missing, Rachel Ganz, whose husband was missing after flooding in Missouri, described waking "every morning to a reality I don't want to exist in." The researcher Sarah Wayland described "dreading but also hoping at the same time." ## For the friend, pastor or church member In the same [AP report](https://apnews.com/article/12b6b59b169a2fac9146ede7caf906b0), Lidiia Rudenko said, "Sometimes we just need to be hugged and left in silence." Ganz described one offer that put the burden back on her: "If you need anything, please let me know." An offer with a day in it asks less. In this site's words, you might say, "I'm bringing dinner Thursday, no need to answer the door," or "Can I sit by the phone with you tonight?" or "I'll keep checking the official updates so you don't have to." What lands badly is often a promise. Leah Goldin, [AP reported](https://apnews.com/article/12b6b59b169a2fac9146ede7caf906b0), was told, "Our kids will come back soon." Instead, in this site's words: "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere while you wait." Nobody can promise an outcome, and a family does not need one from a friend. If you have gone quiet, [what to say when you do not know what to say](https://biblenudge.com/blog/what-to-say-when-you-do-not-know-what-to-say) is for you. ## People in Scripture who kept watch In 2 Samuel 18, David sits between the two gates while a watchman on the roof calls down each runner he sees. "If he is alone, there is news in his mouth," the king says, and to each runner he asks, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" The news, when it came, was the worst, and the text records David's grief without softening it. In 2 Samuel 21:10, Rizpah took sackcloth and spread it on the rock, and kept watch over her sons "from the beginning of harvest until water poured on them from the sky," by day and by night. What these two give is company: people in Scripture who kept watch for someone they loved, one at the gate and one on the rock, and whose waiting the Bible thought worth recording. ![A folded blanket and a thermos on a wooden chair by a window at dusk](https://biblenudge.com/blog/prayer-for-families-of-the-missing-after-a-disaster/the-chair-by-the-window.jpg) *Keeping watch is its own kind of work.* ## Praying from far away Paul's line in [Romans 12:15](https://biblenudge.com/context/romans-12-15) can be prayed from anywhere: "Weep with those who weep." When Job's friends first came to him, they sat with him seven days and nights, and "no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great" ([Job 2:11-13](https://biblenudge.com/context/job-2-11-13)). The Church of England's prayer ["For those caught up in tragedy and disaster"](https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/topical-prayers/prayers-world) opens, "O Lord our God, source of all goodness and love, accept the fervent prayers of your people." If you want to give, the [IFRC](https://www.ifrc.org/our-work/disasters-climate-and-crises/cash-and-voucher-assistance) says cash "can be a quick and effective way" to support people after a disaster where markets are working, and it launched an [emergency appeal for the Nepal floods](https://www.ifrc.org/press-release/ifrc-launches-chf-25-million-emergency-appeal-response-devastating-nepal-flash-floods) to support the Nepal Red Cross Society. After a storm or a sudden loss of your own, [Bible verses for storms](https://biblenudge.com/blog/bible-verses-for-storms) and [Bible verses for tragedy](https://biblenudge.com/blog/bible-verses-for-tragedy) were written for that. ## Questions people ask **Can Restoring Family Links help if I am a friend rather than family?** Its [FAQ](https://familylinks.icrc.org/frequently-asked-questions) says it helps family members, not friends or people acting for someone else. **What are Nepal's emergency numbers?** The [rescue portal](https://rescue.opmcm.gov.np/) lists emergency rescue on 1234, Nepal Police on 100 and the disaster authority on 1155. **Where does a gift reach people fastest?** The [IFRC](https://www.ifrc.org/our-work/disasters-climate-and-crises/cash-and-voucher-assistance) says cash payments can reach people more quickly than supplies held up by customs and transit, and its [donation page](https://www.ifrc.org/donate) lets you support a specific emergency response. ## Where to go next If the wait has brought thoughts of ending your life, please reach a person tonight. In the United States, call or text 988 for the [988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline](https://988lifeline.org/). In Canada, call or text [9-8-8](https://988.ca/). In the United Kingdom and Ireland, [Samaritans](https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/) is on 116 123. In Australia, [Lifeline](https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/national-services/lifeline-crisis-support) is 13 11 14. Everywhere else, including Nepal, Japan and Indonesia, [Find A Helpline](https://findahelpline.com/) lists services by country. Tonight, make one call or send one form to the official route for your country or to the Red Cross. Then read Psalm 13 once, aloud, with the name of the person you are waiting for. [Bible Nudge](https://biblenudge.com/) can take a line about anything else you are carrying and come back with one passage and what surrounds it. [Find a passage](https://biblenudge.com/nudge). ## Words that come up here Tap a term to see what it means. **Ambiguous loss.** Pauline Boss's name for a loss with no clear ending, such as a person who is missing. **Restoring Family Links.** The Red Cross and Red Crescent service that helps find family members and put them back in touch. **Basarnas.** Indonesia's national search and rescue agency. ## Share this page If somebody you know is carrying this, the link goes straight to the passage and what surrounds it. Nothing here asks them to sign up for anything. [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbiblenudge.com%2Fblog%2Fprayer-for-families-of-the-missing-after-a-disaster)[Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbiblenudge.com%2Fblog%2Fprayer-for-families-of-the-missing-after-a-disaster&media=https%3A%2F%2Fbiblenudge.com%2Fblog%2Fprayer-for-families-of-the-missing-after-a-disaster%2Ffeatured.jpg&description=Prayer%20for%20Families%20of%20the%20Missing%20After%20a%20Flood%20or%20Storm%3A%20Where%20to%20Ask%2C%20What%20Helps%2C%20and%20Psalm%2013%20for%20the%20Wait) ## Related Articles - [How Do I Know God Is Speaking to Me? What People Mean, How Traditions Test a Sense or a Thought, and Psalm 13 for the Quiet](https://biblenudge.com/blog/how-do-i-know-god-is-speaking-to-me): A thought that felt too clear, a verse that keeps returning, or only quiet? Psalm 13 for the quiet, and how several traditions test a sense. - [Is Sally a Biblical Name? Sarah Behind It, Her Long Wait, and Psalm 13 for the Question How Long](https://biblenudge.com/blog/is-sally-a-biblical-name): Sally comes from Sarah. Where the name comes from, how to say it, Sarah and Hagar in their own right, and Psalm 13 for the question how long. - [Still Rebuilding Two Years After Hurricane Helene: Where Recovery Stands, Help That Is Still Open, and Psalm 13 for the Long Wait](https://biblenudge.com/blog/still-rebuilding-after-a-hurricane): Two years after Hurricane Helene: dated recovery figures, help still open, and Psalm 13.