The State Department has opened a fully staffed branch office in Kathmandu, complete with 70 cots, a cafeteria serving American-style pancakes, and a 24-hour hotline, to await the 70 Americans still unaccounted for after the catastrophic flooding in the Nepal-China border region.
Department officials said the office, which they have named the American Waiting Lounge, is designed to process the missing citizens as they emerge from the disaster zone. Each cot is equipped with a pillow, a blanket, and a laminated card listing the nearest embassy contact. A large digital board above the cots displays the names of the unaccounted, with a green light that will flash when someone is found.
We are committed to providing regular updates, and this office ensures that no American will have to wait standing up, said a State Department spokesperson, who declined to give their name. The cafeteria staff have been trained to prepare both hot meals and comfort food, and the hotline operators are standing by to take calls from families, though they admit they have no new information to share.
The office, which was built in three days using prefabricated materials flown in from Delhi, has already attracted the attention of local residents, who have begun using the lounge as a shelter from the monsoon rains. The cots are very comfortable, said one local man, who was not American but had decided to wait anyway. The pancakes are a nice touch.
Officials said the office will remain open until all 70 Americans are accounted for, or until the building is washed away by the next flood, whichever comes first.