KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Bishworaj Khadka, a cook in Lalitpur, could hear the Nakhu River becoming louder and louder as he sat with his wife and daughter-in-law in their house situated at the river’s edge. It hadn’t stopped raining for about 12 hours and the swollen river was getting dangerously close.
When they felt the first reverberations through the living room floor, the family rushed out the door. The rest is a blur in Bishowraj’s mind. He had only managed to stuff some money into his pocket. Barely 15 minutes later, the house caved in before their eyes.
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KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Bishworaj Khadka, a cook in Lalitpur, could hear the Nakhu River becoming louder and louder as he sat with his wife and daughter-in-law in their house situated at the river’s edge. It hadn’t stopped raining for about 12 hours and the swollen river was getting dangerously close.
A man affected by the flood carries his child, playing with a mobile phone, as they walk towards their makeshift shelter in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A man sits inside a concrete pipe meant for the municipal use after his shelter was swept away by the flooding Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A woman cooks food near her makeshift shelter after her home was swept away by the flooding Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A man lives with his child in an open area after his house was swept away by the flooding Bagmati River, in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A man removes mud from his shop damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains, in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Truck drivers wait inside their vehicles as they wait for road to get cleared following landslides near Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A crew uses cranes to lift vehicles out of the mud after flooding in the Nakhu river caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
In this aerial view of Lalitpur, buildings damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains are seen, in Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A man stands in front of mural at the Tika Bhairabh Temple premises damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Sharmila Khadka, 50, looks at her house damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A motorbike lies on the bed of the Nakhu river washed away in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Mud engulfs a mountainside where a building in the Anandabaan hospital premises was damaged in a landslide caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Workers clear mud from a landslide on a road damaged due to heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Children play near a house damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
An idol of the Nandi, the vehicle of Hindu god Shiva, lies at the Tika Bhairabh Temple premises damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Women salvage their belongings from a house damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A part of a road is damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A man clears the wreckage from his house damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Vehicles and furniture damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains are kept on the side of a road, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A door from a building damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains lies at the edge of the Nakhu river in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Rescuers search for the body of a missing doctor after a landslide damaged a house in the Anandaban hospital, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Bishworaj Khadka, 52, weeps in front of his house which had collapsed due to flooding in the Nakhu river caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A woman with a child on her back walks past a house which had collapsed due to flooding in the Nakhu river caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Bishowraj took his family to his brother’s place, farther up from the river’s edge.
It was the morning of Saturday, Sept. 28, and the rain would continue for another day, causing landslides and floods in areas surrounding Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital. More than 200 people were dead in the worst flooding to hit the region in five decades. Over 10 inches of rainfall fell in the Kathmandu Valley in two days, nearly 20% of the monthly average.
The Bagmati River in Kathmandu inundated low-lying areas, damaging temporary shelters and forcing daily-wage squatters to seek safety away from the raging waters. Some of the urban dwellings were covered foot deep in mud and debris of broken tree limbs and damaged buildings.
By Monday, the sun was out and Bishowraj and his wife Sharmila went back to what remained of their home to try and salvage whatever they could. The damage was extensive and Sharmila tried hard to find some cooking utensils that were intact.
Elsewhere in the capital, earthmovers lifted parked vehicles out of the mud, and tried to flush the ground floors of the slime left by the receding floodwaters. Several highways leading to Kathmandu were damaged, causing traffic jams and disrupting supplies.
A man affected by the flood carries his child, playing with a mobile phone, as they walk towards their makeshift shelter in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A man affected by the flood carries his child, playing with a mobile phone, as they walk towards their makeshift shelter in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A man sits inside a concrete pipe meant for the municipal use after his shelter was swept away by the flooding Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A woman cooks food near her makeshift shelter after her home was swept away by the flooding Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A man lives with his child in an open area after his house was swept away by the flooding Bagmati River, in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A man removes mud from his shop damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains, in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Truck drivers wait inside their vehicles as they wait for road to get cleared following landslides near Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A crew uses cranes to lift vehicles out of the mud after flooding in the Nakhu river caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
In this aerial view of Lalitpur, buildings damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains are seen, in Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A man stands in front of mural at the Tika Bhairabh Temple premises damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Sharmila Khadka, 50, looks at her house damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A motorbike lies on the bed of the Nakhu river washed away in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Mud engulfs a mountainside where a building in the Anandabaan hospital premises was damaged in a landslide caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Workers clear mud from a landslide on a road damaged due to heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Children play near a house damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
An idol of the Nandi, the vehicle of Hindu god Shiva, lies at the Tika Bhairabh Temple premises damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Women salvage their belongings from a house damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A part of a road is damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A man clears the wreckage from his house damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Vehicles and furniture damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains are kept on the side of a road, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A door from a building damaged in the floods caused by heavy rains lies at the edge of the Nakhu river in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Rescuers search for the body of a missing doctor after a landslide damaged a house in the Anandaban hospital, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Bishworaj Khadka, 52, weeps in front of his house which had collapsed due to flooding in the Nakhu river caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A woman with a child on her back walks past a house which had collapsed due to flooding in the Nakhu river caused by heavy rains in Lalitpur, Nepal, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
