I was asleep early on Sunday morning. I also run a hotel in Lokpa, where I had a few tourists staying who were heading to Chum Valley. It must have been around 4am when I heard a rumbling sound. I had never heard anything like it before. I immediately thought a flood was coming.

The noise grew louder when I stepped outside. It reminded me of the Bhotekoshi floods. We left the house and ran uphill. When we reached a point about 300 metres above our home, other villagers were also awake and making their way to higher ground. Some people were caught off guard in their hotels and where they had been sleeping. Everyone was asking what was happening.

We stayed near a cave and in the forest, watching the river until daylight. We returned home only in the morning.

From above, I could see the river being blocked and then breaking through, over and over again. It happened around six times. Each time the water burst through, the noise was deafening. We were frightened throughout the night until it got light.

I have never seen a flood like this. There was a flood in this river 25 or 30 years ago, people say, but it was nothing like this. We never expected such a devastating flood.

People say a landslide in the Ungilung river triggered the flood. We have sent villagers to check what happened, but we have not received any information yet.

I was asleep when my phone rang. All I heard was, “Brother, run! Run!” I asked what had happened, and the person on the phone told me a flood was coming. I immediately woke everyone in the house. There was panic among our neighbours, too. It was still dark, so we left our home and went about 500 metres uphill. We have not returned yet.

Even after we reached the forest, all we could hear until dawn was the roar of the water. I kept wondering what might have happened to our house, but I knew we first had to save our lives.

We called people we knew in other places to find out what was happening, including those in Machhakhola and as far as Arughat. Once it was light, I looked towards the Budhi Gandaki and saw another huge surge of water coming down. I even filmed the morning flood.

The river upstream must have been blocked. Whenever the water broke through, it made an intense rumbling sound. The roar would continue for about 15 minutes before the water level dropped. This kept happening until morning.

The flood has inundated the hydropower project site in Salleri. In Jagat, the water has also risen right up to the edge of the settlement. We are still staying uphill from Jagat. We have been eating beaten rice and instant noodles, but we are frightened.