How did this house survive Nepal’s devastating flood? One home stands amid the ruins
Trishuli, Nepal, August 31, 2026: As catastrophic floodwaters swept through Nepal’s Trishuli region, destroying homes, shops, bridges and vehicles, one mint-green two-storey house remained standing almost untouched amid the devastation.
The lone surviving structure has gone viral on social media, offering a striking image of the scale of destruction left behind by the flash floods. Around the house, entire buildings have disappeared and families have been forced to abandon their homes and livelihoods as rescue and relief efforts continue.
For local residents, the disaster unfolded with terrifying speed after warnings of a glacial lake outburst and rapidly rising floodwaters.
Phulmaya Lama, a local resident, told ANI that people initially struggled to believe that such a massive flood could reach their area. She said she had been at her clothing shop when warnings began that a glacial lake in Tibet had burst and that areas including Timure and Syabrubesi had been affected.
Residents were urged to evacuate as police used loudspeakers to warn people of the approaching flood.
“When we looked, we saw the flood coming, as high as the mountain itself. So all of us ran away,” Lama recalled.
She said even vehicles being used to warn and evacuate residents were caught in the floodwaters, while elderly people, schoolchildren and school buses scrambled to safety.
Lama said her own house was destroyed and that her family has been taking shelter at someone else’s home for the past six days.
“Nothing is left,” she said, adding that several people living near her home remain missing.
Another survivor described returning to an area where almost everything had vanished.
“Everything is gone, sir, nothing is left,” the resident said, recalling how a helicopter brought them back to the area. The survivor said money saved for an operation was also lost, along with a shop and home.
For Prakash Tamang, however, the disaster brought one small relief amid the devastation. He said he had taken his two children to school in his car instead of sending them on the school bus that day.
“By God’s grace, they survived. Beyond that, everything is gone,” Tamang said.
After taking his family to safety in Kathmandu, Tamang returned to the affected area to see what remained of his home and check whether authorities were documenting the losses.
Nepal is continuing to grapple with the enormous scale of the disaster. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), the death toll reached 903 on Monday, while around 4,247 people remained missing. Authorities said 10,451 people had been rescued so far.
Chitwan recorded the highest number of deaths at 272, followed by Nawalparasi East with 207, Nawalparasi West with 151, Nuwakot with 95, Gorkha with 62, Dhading with 55, Tanahun with 37 and Rasuwa with 24.
Those reported missing include security personnel, government employees, hydropower workers and foreign nationals. Nuwakot reported 1,548 missing people and Rasuwa 865, according to District Emergency Operations Centre data.
Rescue operations are continuing both on the ground and by air. The Nepal Army has carried out aerial rescues involving 252 foreigners and 3,344 Nepali nationals, while hundreds of flights have been conducted for rescue and relief operations.
On August 30, 15 people from a hydropower project, including five Chinese and seven Indian nationals, were rescued.
Nearly 20,000 security personnel have been deployed in rescue operations, with ground teams carrying out thousands of rescues and helicopters continuing to evacuate people from the worst-hit areas.