No Longer Safe

Sheltering with relatives or in temporary camps, survivors of devastating floods in Nepal say they can no longer rebuild their homes after the landscape was violently transformed, leaving them focused simply on survival. Pabitra Lamsal had lived with her family in Dhunge Bazaar for over 40 years. But the family's two homes and her rice paddy fields have vanished, swept away by the floodwaters.

"The river is flowing right where our houses used to stand," the 45-year-old said, waiting at a government food distribution centre. "There is no land left at all." Along with the nine members of her family, she does not know where they will live. "The river swept away all the money we had."

Worse than the earthquake

The devastating August 26 flood, after a vast glacial mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border, has killed more than 1,300 people and left more than 5,600 missing across both countries. The United Nations appealed Friday for $50 million to help more than 84,000 people affected by the disaster.

For some victims, the flood was worse than the powerful 2015 earthquake which also devastated the region. "This disaster is far worse," said headteacher Rawendra Dawadi. "The school was completely destroyed by the earthquake, but we rebuilt it. Back then, we still had the land; this time, we've lost the land as well as the building." Sumita Tamang, queueing for food supplies, said above all she wanted to find her missing husband. "It's been nine days," she said, her voice breaking through tears.