Kathmandu, September 3, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A week after devastating flash floods swept through parts of Nepal, survivors living in temporary shelters on Thursday recounted the scale of destruction, with some describing entire villages being washed away and hundreds of people still untraceable.
Speaking to IANS, a man staying at a temporary shelter in a monastery in Mustang said nearly 80 per cent of his village and its local population had been wiped out in the disaster.
“Our people were rescued from Timure and brought here with great difficulty. In our village, among the local population, nearly 200 people are untraceable and missing. Around 80 per cent are missing; only 20 per cent of us are here. Some who were living outside in Kathmandu or elsewhere are safe. Thousands of people have died or gone missing. The situation is extremely dire right now,” he said.
Recounting how quickly the disaster struck, he said villagers had been going about their normal routine when the flood hit.
“People were carrying out their regular routine when the flood struck; it was so huge that the entire village got swept away within two minutes…around eight to ten people could be rescued from there, the rest all were swept away,” he said.
He appealed to national and international organisations for assistance, saying the affected community had been reduced to “a zero level”, with homes and sources of livelihood destroyed.
In Trishuli, one of the worst-hit areas, another survivor told IANS that both his house and shop had been completely destroyed.
“My house was located here, but everything is completely destroyed. Water entered up to the fifth story and ruined everything. All the goods in my shop were washed away. Water entered the upper rooms as well, but we managed to salvage a few things,” he said.
He added that relief materials had reached the affected area and were being distributed among people.
The disaster has also severely disrupted communication networks, cutting off affected areas from the rest of Nepal and leaving families with limited means of contacting relatives.
A telecom technician working to restore internet services in Trishuli said extensive damage to infrastructure had complicated restoration efforts.
“Everything is completely destroyed, so we came from Nepal Telecom to restore internet connections. We don’t have detailed information on how much damage occurred overall as we just arrived recently,” he said.
The technician estimated that telecom equipment worth around Rs 6-7 lakh had been destroyed.
“Service in this area should be restored by today or tomorrow, but for areas further up, it will take at least three days or more — we cannot give an exact timeframe yet,” he added.
With rescue, relief and restoration efforts continuing, survivors in the affected areas are facing the difficult task of rebuilding homes, livelihoods and communities after one of Nepal’s most devastating natural disasters in more than a decade.
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