This flood took everything: Nepal survivors recall families swept away in seconds

Survivors of the flash floods that hit villages along the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday recalled watching relatives and neighbours being swept away in torrents of mud, as the death toll crossed 280 and more than 1,500 people remained missing.

For Keshav Prasad Baral, the disaster unfolded as he stood helplessly on his terrace, watching his building being submerged in a torrent of mud, water and rocks, with his wife trapped on the top floor.

With a scar on his face, though it was unclear from the visuals whether it was caused by the floods, Baral looked down as he spoke to international media, his face reflecting the devastation he had witnessed.

“My wife was already buried in the landslide while we stayed on the terrace for safety,” he told Al Jazeera, recalling that the waters took nearly an hour to subside and that he was evacuated by helicopter only five hours later.

Visuals of the Nepal Army rescuing people buried in thick sludge, lifting them in baskets and winching them aboard helicopters, have also been widely shared on social media.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) later clarified that the tremors were generated by the glacial collapse and subsequent debris flow, and were not caused by the 4.4-magnitude earthquake reported earlier.

The force of the floods was so strong that seismologists initially identified the event as an earthquake.

On Thursday, rescuers moved through thick mud and debris while Nepalese authorities rushed aid and relief supplies to the affected areas.

Entire settlements were wiped out, and families in hospitals and villages waited for news of missing relatives as survivors spoke of homes, farmland, livestock and family members being lost within minutes.

Kalpana Malla, from Nepal's Nuwakot district, told the BBC that members of her family were swept away in front of her. She said her father, mother, sister and her sister's children were all claimed by the flood. "They could not escape the flood; there was no chance at all," she said.

"This flood took everything, but my son and I climbed the rooftop of a house and survived but couldn't explain how," she added.

Her son, Sugam Malla, said he had pulled his mother's hand and saved her. He said he had given his phone to his sister so that she could stay in touch, but her mobile phone could no longer be reached. "I am worried she must be swept away," he said.

Another survivor, Goma Pandit, said she had lost her buffaloes and all her other cattle. "My farmland is also swept away. Ten sacks of mustard seeds, tons of corn and rice paddy are all gone. Nothing is left," she told BBC.

At Kathmandu's TU Teaching Hospital, families of those missing in the floods waited eagerly for updates.

Mani Shrestha Bishwa was at a hospital on Wednesday night, waiting for news of his younger brother, cousin, uncle and friend. “I last contacted them at 8:30 in the morning,” he told the BBC.

Trekking guide Sonam Dorjee said he missed the flood in his home village of Rasiwa Syafru by about an hour after leaving at 8 am local time, the BBC reported.

As he was driving to Kathmandu, he told the BBC that he heard the roar of floodwaters rushing into the village.

“It sounded like an earthquake,” he said. “My house has collapsed... I have seen a photo.”

Dorjee said he still could not find his sister, her husband and several other family members, describing the floods as “sudden and devastating”.

As rescue teams continued to work through mud and debris, survivors and relatives across the affected areas and in Kathmandu said they were still waiting for news of their loved ones.

Like many others, Dorjee was left with only prayers as he hoped his sister and her husband would be found alive.

“There is a 10% chance, we hope,” he said.

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