Salina Gurung, a resident of ward 12 of Kalanti in Panauti Municipality, was desperately searching for her house on Tuesday. She wanted to locate her flood-ravaged home and see if there was anything left. But she was unable to reach the place where her house stood until Friday midnight.

It had been raining incessantly in the area since Thursday evening. The water flow in the Roshi river increased significantly by Friday due to continuous downpour. The flooded stream entered the settlement, wreaking havoc around midnight on Friday.

“It was around midnight when we had to run to save our lives as the stream swept into the settlement. We could not salvage any valuables or belongings,” said Salina whom the Post met at Kalanti. She lamented that she and her family members had nothing but the clothes on their backs.

According to Gurung, they walked through the forest above the settlement. It was raining heavily and landslides were occurring all around. “It was quite perilous to navigate such treacherous terrain. We walked all night and reached Panauti bazar at dawn. We survived the disaster purely by luck,” she said.

The Gurung family is currently staying in Panauti. They have no food to eat or clothes to wear. Along with her relatives and fellow neighbours, Salina made her way to the Roshi riverbank searching for her house. “I came here hoping to retrieve some goods and belongings from our flood-ravaged home. The water level has not receded yet, so I couldn’t reach the house.”

Salina and her neighbours returned empty-handed, reminiscing about how beautiful the settlement was before the flood. They appeared quite dejected as they looked at the flood-ravaged houses, roads, and once-cultivable land. “The village is not what it used to be. It will never be the same again,” Salina lamented.

The Roshi stream flows between Bhaleshwar in ward 8 of Panauti Municipality and Kalanti in ward 12. The rain-swollen stream ravaged both the settlements. As this Post reporter walked about a kilometre from Bhaleshwar to Kalanti, there was not a single house standing. Some were swept away, while many others are on the verge of collapse.

The flooding damaged around 300 houses in Bhaleshwar and Palanti settlements. Most of the flood victims have sought refuge in Panauti bazar. The locals are still traumatised recalling the worst disaster.

“It was raining cats and dogs with flashes of lightning. The villagers sensed that a disaster was looming. There was chaos in the village at around Friday midnight when a house collapsed trapping the owner Anish Timilsena inside. His neighbour Gita Timilsena, 35, rushed to rescue him but she herself was buried to death. The villagers rescued Anish safely, but could not take him to the hospital as all the ways were cut off by floods,” Bir Bahadur Lama recalled the tragedy.

According to Lama, Anish was finally rescued by the Nepal Army on Sunday and taken to Dhulikhel but he died on the way. The settlements are now without electricity and drinking water, and the villagers have been displaced.

According to the villagers, the Roshi river often gets flooded in the monsoon. “But we’ve never seen a flood this big. There was a big flood in Roshi two years ago, but it didn’t cause much destruction,” said Govinda Prasad Humagain, 54.

Ward 12 of Panauti was hit particularly hard. “Five people, including a foreign national, were killed in flooding in the ward alone. Fourteen people were injured. Roads are blocked while electricity, drinking water and telephone services have all been disrupted in the affected settlements,” said Jayaram KC, chairman of the ward. According to him, efforts are underway to clear the roads first.

According to the District Police Office, 65 people were killed while eight others are missing in floods and landslides in Kavrepalanchok district. A total of 71 people were injured.

As many as 20 people died in Panauti Municipality alone. According to Ram Sharan Bhandari, mayor of Panauti Municipality, wards 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 11 and 12 were heavily affected by rain-induced disasters. “Rescue work is underway. The municipality is coordinating with provincial and federal governments, social organisations and donors to provide relief and rehabilitation for the displaced people,” said Bhandari.