Anguish stalks Nepal flood survivors whose loved ones were swept away
One woman says her father, mother, sister and sister's children were carried away before her eyes.
Survivors of the massive flash floods in Nepal are grappling with profound grief as they recount the harrowing moments their loved ones were swept away by torrents of mud.
More than 160 people have died and 800 are missing after floods obliterated entire villages along the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday. The force of the deluge was so immense that seismologists initially mistook it for an earthquake.
On Thursday, rescuers navigated through thick mud and debris as Nepalese authorities scrambled to deliver aid and relief supplies to the affected regions.
"My family members were swept away by the flood in front of my eyes," Kalpana Malla from Nepal's Nuwakot district shared with the BBC. Malla tragically lost her father, mother, sister, and her sister's children in the disaster.
"They could not escape the flood; there was no chance at all," she stated. "This flood took everything, but my son and I climbed the rooftop of a house and survived but couldn't explain how." Her son, Sugam Malla, credited himself with saving his mother by pulling her hand. He expressed concern for his sister, to whom he had lent his phone, as her mobile was no longer reachable. "I am worried she must be swept away."
Another woman, Goma Pandit, lamented the loss of 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."
At Kathmandu's TU Teaching Hospital, families of the missing anxiously await news. Ram Khumari Shrestha, holding up her phone, said, "This is my husband. He was off to Rasuwa as a part of his driving job. He was in contact with me until 8 pm yesterday. But I couldn't call him this morning. The phone was switched off," she told the BBC.
Mani Shrestha Bishwa also spent Wednesday night at the hospital, hoping for word from his younger brother, cousin, uncle, and friend. "I last contacted them at 8:30 in the morning," he recalled.
Trekking guide Sonam Dorjee narrowly escaped the flood in his home village of Rasiwa Syafru, leaving about an hour before it struck at 08:00 local time. Driving to Kathmandu, Dorjee told the BBC he heard the sound of floods engulfing his village. "It [sounded] like an earthquake," he described. "My house has collapsed... I have seen a photo." Dorjee's sister, Dechen Tamang, is missing, along with her husband and several other family members. He characterized the flood as "sudden and devastating."
"Many survivors are now left without homes and they need emergency rescue and evacuation, as well as food, temporary accommodation and medical support." He holds onto hope for his sister's survival, stating, "There is a 10% chance, we hope."