When the flood hit ward 5 of Bidur Municipality in Nuwakot on August 26, 38-year-old Bharat Prasad Dahal knew something was wrong from the sound of people shouting and running for safety. Blind, Dahal could not flee on his own. Two or three friends guided him to Pipaldanda, where he and his family took shelter.

“I couldn’t see the flood or know how bad it was. I only realised something was happening when I heard people shouting and running,” Dahal said. “I couldn’t get to safety by myself. Luckily, two or three friends took me by the hand and led me to higher ground.”

After the flood destroyed his home, Dahal moved with his family to a holding centre at the Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine Hospital in Bidur. At home, he could find his way around by feeling along the walls and make his way to the toilet on his own. At the shelter, however, he needs help with even basic daily tasks.

“I had lived there for years, so I knew my way around,” he said. “Here, I don’t know where anything is, so I have to rely on other people. There’s no separate arrangement for people with disabilities. We’re all staying in the same place. This isn’t our home, where we can make things work for ourselves. We’re just trying to get by.”

Dahal also struggles to reach places where relief is distributed. He says people with disabilities are often unable to get there in time when aid is handed out.

“People rush to get relief as soon as it is handed out. I can’t do that because I can’t move as quickly as they can,” he said. “We often miss out. No one comes to check whether we have received anything.”

Dahal’s mother also has an intellectual disability, so other family members help with meals and everyday tasks. Organisations at the holding centre provide mental health counselling. But what worries Dahal most is not the flood itself. He fears what could have happened if he had been alone when it struck.

A narrow escape

For 37-year-old Sangam Shrestha of Devighat in ward 3, it was his family who carried him to safety when the flood struck. Shrestha is blind and has a physical disability. He has been unable to walk or speak for several years due to illness and depends on others even to eat.

“We heard the flood was coming and everything turned chaotic,” said his father, Bishnu Lal Shrestha. “His wife carried him uphill as quickly as she could. Our house was right by the Trishuli river. We got everyone to safety within minutes. Then the house was gone. The flood swept it away. At that point, all that mattered was saving our lives.”

Most of their belongings were washed away. They are surviving on food and utensils given by neighbours. Sangam’s family has to carry him to bed and the toilet and help him eat. Caring for him at the holding centre was too difficult, so they chose to stay in the old house instead.

“We have to carry him to bed and the toilet and help him eat,” Bishnu Lal said. “It was too difficult to manage at the holding centre, so we moved into this old two-room house. The flood swept away everything we had. Our neighbours have given us food and utensils, and we are getting relief from the school.”

Bishnu Lal now worries about what might have happened if the flood had struck at night or while the family was away. Sangam survived because they heard the warning in time and managed to get him to safety. “We heard the flood was coming and managed to get out,” he said. “But I still think about what would have happened if it had struck at night or while we were away. How would we have got him out? He can’t see, walk or call for help. He can’t run to safety on his own.”

No reliable count

Dahal and Shrestha escaped because they had people to help them. It remains unclear how many other people with disabilities affected by the floods were left without similar support. Authorities still do not have a complete picture of how many people with disabilities were living in the affected areas, how many were displaced, how many remain missing or who requires specialised assistance.

The 2021 national census recorded 17,249 people with disabilities in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading alone. Dhading had 9,017, Nuwakot 6,939 and Rasuwa 1,293. There is no separate breakdown showing how many of them were affected by the floods.

The National Federation of the Disabled Nepal says it has so far confirmed that 59 people with disabilities have been displaced, 14 are missing, and six have died in different flood-affected areas.

Devi Datta Acharya, president of the federation, said people with disabilities face additional barriers at almost every stage of a disaster response. Deaf people may miss warnings or be unable to call for help. Blind people may struggle to find a safe way out. People who use wheelchairs can also be difficult to move quickly in an emergency.

The federation says it is working with government agencies and organisations to compile data on affected people. Some are staying in holding centres, while others are sheltering with relatives or other families, but there is still no reliable breakdown of how many people with disabilities are staying at particular centres.

Shelters pose another barrier

Reaching a temporary shelter does not necessarily end the problem. Rights activists say holding centres often lack the accessibility and facilities needed by people with disabilities, making everyday life even harder.

People who use wheelchairs, those who are blind or have low vision, and deaf people all need accessible shelters, Acharya said. Deaf people, in particular, need access to people who understand sign language as well as an effective way to receive and exchange information.

Kishor Adhikari of Karuna Foundation said he saw few people with disabilities at the holding centres he visited, although many children, families and women who had recently given birth were staying there. The centres were not equipped to meet the needs of people with disabilities.

Disability rights activist and journalist Gajendra Budhathoki said the lack of reliable data on people with disabilities during disasters was a longstanding problem.

The state may know how many households have been affected, but it often lacks basic information about who lives in them. That makes it harder to identify people who may need extra help during rescue and recovery.

“Hundreds of households have been affected, but the state does not know how many people with disabilities, children, elderly people or women are among them,” Budhathoki said. “A central database and digital mapping could show where people with disabilities are and help rescuers reach them.”

Deepak Raj Sapkota, executive director of Karuna Foundation, said the scale of the disaster made it difficult to create separate arrangements for every vulnerable group. People with disabilities were being prioritised in relief, healthcare and counselling efforts in affected areas, he said, but more coordination was needed for their recovery and rehabilitation.

Sapkota said the foundation had also learned of a case in Syafrubesi in which a physically disabled man was caught in the flood because he could not escape. His wife and child managed to flee, he said, but he could not. “We found out about this while looking for affected people,” Sapkota said. “But we still do not know how many people with disabilities were caught in the floods, or how many children and elderly people were affected.”

For people with disabilities, losing essential aids such as wheelchairs, white canes or walkers can make everyday life much harder.

“People with disabilities are especially vulnerable,” Budhathoki said. “Without their assistive devices, even basic daily tasks can become difficult. There has not been enough attention to providing the equipment and medical supplies they need after a disaster.”

Government coordinating response

The Ministry of Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities, and Social Security, in coordination with other agencies, issued a notice asking people to contact the authorities if people with disabilities in flood-affected areas were at risk and needed rescue, relocation or other assistance. But Anupa Rai, an officer at the ministry’s Disability Rights Promotion Section, said no separate emergency request for such a rescue had been received so far.

“Local authorities handled the rescues, but we have not received separate data on how many of those rescued were people with disabilities,” Rai said.

The ministry says it is coordinating with local units and various organisations. Rai said it had received information that some people with disabilities were safe in holding centres, but there had been no reports of people requiring immediate emergency rescue.

The ministry is also coordinating with UNICEF, Handicap International, Karuna Foundation, the National Federation of the Disabled Nepal, the Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled Children and the World Health Organisation, among others.

The government is preparing temporary housing, but has yet to decide where and how people with disabilities will be accommodated. Rai said a rapid assessment led by the National Federation of the Disabled Nepal was underway and that plans would be based on the needs identified.

The first challenge in any disaster is getting people with disabilities to safety. Relief, treatment, shelter and rehabilitation come only afterwards. Yet each stage can require specialised support.

Budhathoki said people with disabilities must be included at every stage of disaster management, but in practice they remain largely overlooked. He also said authorities needed to keep track of what had happened to safe classrooms for children with intellectual disabilities that were operating before the floods.

“People with disabilities, older people and children are particularly vulnerable in disasters,” Budhathoki said. “Getting them to safety has to be the priority. They also need proper support once they have been rescued.”

Dahal and Shrestha survived because someone was there to help them. Their stories also expose a wider gap in Nepal’s disaster response: what happens to people with disabilities who have no one to guide, carry or assist them?

Dahal could hear people fleeing, and his friends led him to safety. Others may not be so lucky. For him, the memory of August 26 comes back to a simple question: What would have happened if he had been alone?