Kathmandu, Nepal — On a typical Wednesday at Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot district, 11th‑grade student Gyan Deep Sapkota was startled when teachers began shouting urgently.
Bidur, the town hosting the school, sits on the Trishuli River’s banks. A sudden flash flood surged downstream from the upstream stretch known as the Bhotekoshi.
“Our teachers told us to evacuate,” he said in a phone interview with Al Jazeera. “Some of us crossed an old footbridge to higher ground, while most students fled to the hills. Several experienced panic attacks and fainted.”
“Even now, the memory sends chills down my spine and leaves me anxious.”
The disaster has claimed roughly 180 lives, with at least 1,400 individuals still unaccounted for across a wide area that includes parts of Nepal and Tibet, China. Officials believe a glacial lake outburst upstream in Tibet triggered the torrent, which obliterated villages and even damaged dams. Those missing include police officers, civil servants, hydropower workers, Nepali citizens, and hundreds of foreign tourists visiting Nepal.
By Wednesday evening, Nepal Police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle reported that search and rescue teams had recovered 95 bodies. He warned that both the death toll and the missing‑person count are likely to increase as floodwaters retreat and communication with the hardest‑hit areas improves. Senior Superintendent Rajendra Prasad Dhamala, who oversees the search in Bagmati Province, noted that most of the recovered bodies were discovered downstream.
A significant portion of the missing are Indian pilgrims en route to Tibet for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a revered journey to a lake holy to Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains.
‘Everything has been swept away’
Rajendra Poudel, a healthcare worker residing in Betrawati, Nuwakot district, described the scene as apocalyptic.
“Just this morning the area looked picturesque, with homes, vegetable gardens, and a hydropower station. Now everything has been washed away,” Poudel told Al Jazeera.
“Nothing remains. It’s heartbreaking; I don’t even know what to say.”
Lal Bahadur Rai, also from Nuwakot district, said the floodwaters came within ten meters of his home. “Numerous houses and a school opposite my village were swept away; my house was merely spared,” he said.
“Solar power installations in the vicinity have been destroyed, and the extensive coffee farms have been completely lost,” he added.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office noted that nineteen vehicle bridges and 43 kilometers of highway linking lower Himalayan regions to the affected zones have been washed away by the flood.
The districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, and Chitwan remain on high alert, and officials have advised residents to keep a safe distance from rivers.
Prime Minister Balen Shah issued a social‑media appeal for “national unity,” urging local organizations, businesses, youth volunteers, and citizens nationwide to support the government’s relief and rescue efforts from wherever they are.
“We will intensify the search for those still missing,” Shah posted. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke with Shah on Wednesday, pledging humanitarian aid and support.
Searching for missing relatives
As part of the search, resident Rajan Nepali has visited several hospitals in Kathmandu, where some of the rescued individuals were airlifted.
“My brother‑in‑law was guiding tourists in Rasuwa district,” Nepali said from the National Trauma Center in Kathmandu. “He was in contact with us until 8 a.m.; after that his phone went off and we haven’t heard from him. We’ve been checking hospitals, but we’re unsure where to look or what steps to take.”
Janak Raj Bohora, a civil engineer who has worked on the Upper Trishuli hydropower project for four years, remains missing since the flood.
“I spoke with him at 6 a.m. on Wednesday,” said his wife, Sharmila Bhandari, from Bajhang in western Nepal. “Since he left for work, I haven’t heard from him and have no information on his whereabouts.”
Dipesh Dhakal, another employee of the same hydropower project, is also missing. His friend Bishnu Adhikari said that many teammates managed to escape after a siren sounded.
It remains uncertain whether Dhakal escaped the flood’s path in time. “With the phones down, we have no way to know,” Adhikari added.
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