These were scenes that NDTV witnessed in Rasuwa, a northern Nepali district which was the first to be devastated by deadly flash floods on Wednesday. Roads and bridges washed out, dozens of homes buried, residents waiting for updates on the whereabouts of their missing family members.
The floods struck Rasuwa on the Nepal-Tibet border hardest after a glacial collapse triggered a massive debris flow along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers. Navigating the treacherous terrain on foot, NDTV reporters – Sikta Deo and Ranveer Singh – reached the heart of Rasuwa to capture the devastation firsthand. They witnessed a landscape of near-total devastation along the Bhotekoshi River, where an entire stretch of settlements, infrastructure and riverside areas was swept away, killing hundreds and leaving thousands missing. The river, which flows south from the Himalayan border region, carried massive volumes of water downstream into central Nepal during flash floods. Ranveer Singh trekked for around two hours to a mountain to show the magnitude of the devastation in the Rasuwa district. He also showed the glacier which had burst and sent rock, ice, mud and debris through Himalayan mountain river systems.
More than 500 shops in the main market of Rasuwa had either washed away or vanished beneath a torrent of water, mud and debris.
A resident said the river, which is now overflowing, had a narrow stream. “It is now flowing next to my house,” he told Sikta Deo.
Submerged In Debris: NDTV Ground Report From Nepal’s Worst Flood-Hit District
Overnight rain and rising river waters have hampered rescue efforts in most of the districts. 562 people are still missing in Rasuwa, according to officials. Nepal’s disaster agency Sunday morning said that they have recovered 734 bodies. They also increased the total number of people missing to 2,498. 589 foreigners, mostly Indians, are still missing. China’s state broadcaster CCTV said that 546 people were missing and 16 people had been killed in Tibet.
