Death toll reaches 781 in Nepal flash floods; Families pick up pieces, try to rebuild lives

As many as 272 bodies were recovered from Chitawan district, 199 from Nawalparasi East, 100 from Nawalparasi West, 58 from Gorkha, 50 from Dhading, 52 from Nuwakot, 37 from Tanahu and 13 from Rasuwa, officials said.

The NDRRMA further said that at least 2,502 people are still missing, while 9,435 people were rescued from flood-hit areas so far.

‘We will rebuild it’: Families pick up pieces, try to rebuild lives after Nepal floods

GALCHHI (NEPAL) — “Everything was here before, but now there is nothing left,” said Nayan Tiwari, one of many residents returning to flood-hit Galchhi in central Nepal to recover whatever belongings remain and to restore homes that once held their everyday lives.

The August 26 flash floods, which originated in the Nepal-Tibet border, travelled downstream through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river system, leaving a trail of destruction across northern and central Nepal. The death toll crossed 750 on Sunday, while more than 2,500 people remained missing.

Survivors are now picking their way through mud and debris, families are searching for missing relatives and rescue teams continue to reach people stranded in the affected areas.

Tiwari, a Class 11 student, and his cousin Nivi Tiwari are among those trying to piece their lives back together.

The two have been clearing debris from their flood-damaged home, salvaging whatever they can find beneath layers of mud and sand and separating belongings that can still be used as the family begins the painstaking task of rebuilding.

Nayan told PTI Videos that he was in Kathmandu when the flood struck. After learning what had happened, he immediately told his family in Galchhi to leave the house and move to safer, higher ground. Soon after they left, the flow intensified and swept away everything in its path.

Galchhi, in Dhading district of Bagmati province, lies about 50 km northwest of Kathmandu.

For the Tiwari family, the house represents nearly a decade of memories, including their childhood and years spent together.

“It feels really bad. But we will rebuild it. We will work hard and make the house like it was before,” Nayan told PTI Videos.

The basement of the house was filled with sand, while mud and debris entered the first floor, including the kitchen and bedrooms.

Nayan said more than 15 houses around their home were completely washed away by the powerful current.

The devastation has also taken an emotional toll on Nivi, who was in Kathmandu when she first heard about the floods. She said she felt devastated when she returned and saw the condition of her home.

“I had never seen such a devastating flood before. When I came back and saw my house, I felt completely helpless,” she told PTI Videos.

Despite the destruction, Nivi and her family have begun clearing the house and removing the debris.

“We are working hard with our family to make this house like it was before. We will repair it soon because our childhood was spent here. We learned to walk and read in this house. Now it has been badly damaged, but we will rebuild it,” she said.

The family is relying on relief materials for some of its immediate food and other basic needs.

The scale of the destruction is even more apparent downstream in Nuwakot, where the Bhotekoshi, flowing from Rasuwa, joins the Trishuli river.

According to local resident Raju Amatya, the flood reached the area about 45 minutes after it hit Rasuwa at around 9:30 am on Wednesday.

Amatya, who runs a medical facility in Trishuli, said most houses in five markets – Trishuli, Dhunge Bazar, Devighat, Tupche and Shanti Bazar – were swept away.

The water level in the Trishuli rose as high as 30 metres during the flood, Amatya said, adding that the torrent swept away houses, shops, school buildings, vehicles and people.

“At least 500 houses were either swept away or dismantled,” Amatya said, adding that at least 500 people were missing from the area.

About a dozen school buildings were also swept away, he said. “The local administration sounded the alarm some 45 minutes earlier, but most people did not have time to run away.”

The flood also buried the Central Jail in Trishuli, Amatya added. “Everything was swept away in minutes.”

The markets of Trishuli and surrounding areas now appear largely deserted, with thick layers of mud and debris covering the affected areas.

Betrawati and Trishuli are also on the main route used by pilgrims travelling to Gosaikunda, a major Hindu pilgrimage site in Rasuwa situated at an altitude of about 4,380 metres.

There have also been reports of several buses travelling from Kathmandu and neighbouring districts going missing along the Betrawati-Trishuli road section.

The reports could not be independently verified by PTI.

The devastation was also visible in Trishuli, where people searched through wreckage for belongings and relatives, walking through thick layers of mud left behind by the floodwaters.

At Devighat, displaced families gathered at an emergency relief camp for food, shelter and other assistance.

A catering worker at the camp told PTI Videos that meals were being prepared for survivors and would continue for as long as they were needed. “We will not say that the food supply has ended. Whoever comes here will be provided free meals,” the worker said.

At a teaching hospital in Kathmandu, relatives gathered near the morgue as posters and photographs of flood victims were put up in the hope of identifying loved ones who remain missing.

The search has stretched across districts as bodies swept away by the floodwaters have been recovered far downstream, leaving families waiting for information about relatives whose whereabouts remain unknown.

Among those missing are eight people from Bihar’s Samastipur district who were working at a tyre and hardware shop in the Battar area of Nuwakot, according to their associates.

Sandesh Poddar told PTI Videos that his eight associates had been missing since the floods and that their mobile phones were also unreachable.His friend Ajay said the road from Galchhi towards Rasuwa had been blocked, making it difficult for them to travel further in search of the missing men.

The disaster has also left survivors recounting moments when they narrowly escaped the surging waters.

Ranjitha Vinay Kumar, who returned to Kerala’s Nedumbassery airport on Sunday, recalled seeing huge trees being swept away. “It’s a blessing that we escaped and survived,” she told PTI Videos.

Another pilgrim, Vineeth Kumar, recalled seeing water rushing through the affected area with tremendous force. “About 500-600 metres away, we saw water gushing out like a tsunami,” he said.