Flash floods that struck Nepal’s Nuwakot district on Wednesday killed more than 175 people and left 800 missing. Survivors describe the disaster as sudden and devastating, with loved ones swept into torrents of mud.
The flood’s force was so strong that seismologists initially reported an earthquake, but ground shaking was not detected. The deluge swept out entire villages on the border between Nepal and Tibet, destroying homes and infrastructure.
Kalpana Malla, from the Nuwakot district, said she watched her father, mother, sister and nephew disappear in the moving water.Only she and her son survived by climbing onto a roof; he tried to pull his mother’s hand before it was lost to the current.
Other survivors like Goma Pandit reported the loss of cattle, seeds and the entire farmland. “Everything is gone,” she said, referring to mustard, corn and rice that were swept away with the mud.
Rescue teams slogged through mud and debris as Nepalese authorities dispatched urgent relief supplies. At Kathmandu’s TU Teaching Hospital, families such as Ram Khumari Shrestha waited anxiously for updates on missing relatives.
Trekking guide Sonam Dorjee, who left his home village eight hours after hearing the floods, described the event as “sudden and devastating”. He noted that his sister and husband were missing and that several community members had not been seen since the attack.
With thousands of homes collapsed, authorities have called for emergency evacuation, food, temporary accommodation and medical support. The flood’s immediate aftermath highlights the need for coordinated disaster response and international assistance.
