With the death toll in Nepal well into the hundreds and rising following a massive flash flood on Wednesday, the full scope of destruction remains unclear. People from the affected areas told DW that many villages remain both physically and electronically cut off from the capital, Kathmandu. Bidhya Rajput, a journalist based in the capital, said her home in the Sole village in Nepal's Nuwakot District was swept away by the Trisuli River.
"As far as we know, only four or five people from Sole village could save their lives by fleeing towards the hills. Others couldn't make their way as the floods came up suddenly," she told DW. The government has declared Nuwakot, along with Rasuwa and Dhading districts, to be the most affected by the deadly floods.
Rajput told DW her husband's parents remain missing. Her father in law, a teacher, may have been caught in the flood while returning home after work, according to the school principal. Rajput's husband has left for the village in search for news on his family members, despite the roads being damaged and swept away in many places.
She said that there are no further updates from the village as there has been no electricity or mobile communication since early morning on Thursday. "The state's rescue and relief efforts have been centered mostly in bigger cities," she said, adding that "state assistance is yet to reach Sole." Villagers said the same area was also affected by flooding last year, but many villagers managed to get to higher ground and the water did not reach as high as on Tuesday. "Had the villagers received early warning information, [and] could have presumed that this time floods would be so massive, they could have fled to safe locations like last year," Rajput said.
"This time, they couldn't get even that chance." But Usha Kiran Timsena, an opposition politician from Nuwakot, said police and local officials did issue a warning that a massive flood was coming. However, many people in the area simply didn't account for the scale and speed of the mass of water. "Many those who were a bit far from riversides took it lightly and couldn't flee once the flood reaches to their places," she told DW.
"Two of my close relatives are missing since yesterday morning. There is no further update or contacts since then." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Authorities said that more than three dozen bridges, including motorable and suspension bridges, as well as a dozen hydropower dams, have been destroyed by the floods. Sujan Lohani from Dhading told DW that he had never imagined that the flooding and destruction caused by the Trishuli River could be so massive and widespread.
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