Rasuwa [Nepal], September 1 (ANI): Local authorities in Rasuwa have placed more than 20 recovered bodies in an abandoned house in Dhunche, where police and medical teams are collecting DNA samples before carrying out burials.
Meanwhile, in Nuwakot, displaced residents are sheltering at a makeshift holding centre in a school in Gorkutar, where approximately 150 people whose homes were destroyed by flash floods are currently staying.
People staying at a holding centre have expressed their ordeal following the devastating floods
Survivors of the disaster shared harrowing accounts of the sudden onset of the torrents. A Nuwakot resident recounted the terrifying speed at which the disaster unfolded.
"I realized a flood was coming again. People were warning me that the waters were approaching, but at first, I didn't quite believe it. There were about 80 to 90 houses in my town, and everyone was at home having their meal. Suddenly, some people started shouting, 'Hurry up! The flood is coming!' My wife was eating too. I quickly finished my meal and went down to the ground floor to grab my bag and important documents, like my citizenship card, from the drawer. Just then, my wife shouted, 'Hurry, the flood is coming!' I ran up to the first floor, and we both raced across the road to get to higher ground. Suddenly, my wife said she had forgotten something and turned back toward the house. I looked up and saw the floodwaters rushing very close; the torrent was advancing rapidly. I shouted for her to hurry, but she went back inside. I managed to save myself and reach safety... There was no way for my wife to make it out. My house and my entire neighborhood were completely destroyed. It happened right before my eyes within 10 to 15 minutes--everything was gone. So many students died. There were 18 houses in my immediate village, and over 30 people lost their lives. My wife died too. I lost everything--my property and my hotel were completely wiped out. There is nowhere left to go. A river is now flowing right where my house used to stand. There is absolutely nothing to return to," he told ANI.
Recounting the ordeal of a woman injured in the floods, a girl told ANI that she was injured all over, and there was no one to save her. People saw her from above and pulled her to safety. She had been stranded in a forest area, with no family nearby to rescue her.
Assessing the disaster from a scientific perspective, Basanta Raj Adhikari, Director of the Centre for Disaster Studies at Tribhuvan University, noted the exceptional scale and mechanics of the event. Commenting on the velocity and regional implications, Adhikari stated, "Yes, this is a very unprecedented event. In my research and in the modern history of the Himalayas, this is one of the most unprecedented events. The velocity of the flood was so high, it was 190 or 180 kilometres per hour, that even though we gave some warning to the people, they couldn't actually react. They didn't have sufficient time to do that. So, if you look at the Himalayan hazard conditions, climate change, tectonic activities, and anthropogenic activities are triggering such large-scale devastation. We have had similar kinds of events, for example, in Chamoli in India or in Dharali, but the scale is so large. So, it's not only about Nepalese people; it's about all the people living in the Himalayan territory," he added.
Adhikari added that field research teams are currently evaluating the devastation to support official processes, noting, "There are 16 people in my group, but there are other groups who are also conducting research. So, now we are assessing what kind of damage has occurred, because the government is currently conducting a rapid damage assessment. After that, we have to carry out a post-disaster needs assessment for reconstruction. That's why we are here to assess the situation from a disaster perspective."
Earlier in the day, mass burial started in the capital, Kathmandu, as well, after the morgue ran out of space after one week of the devastating flood in Nepal.
Security forces donned in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) carried the body bags and buried them in the Gorkarna forest area on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
Amid the rainfall, the security personnel walking through the muddy forest carried the bodies and buried them with markers on top. The big bags contained the tags through which the bodies would be later exhumed and handed over to families after establishing the identities. (ANI)
"Unprecedented catastrophe": Survivors recount horror as DNA sampling is underway of bodies recovered in Rasuwa
