Trishuli. After having breakfast, Chhatra Pyakurel of Bidur Municipality-1 was preparing to go to work regularly.

Since his house was at some distance from the banks of the Trishuli river, he did not think that even if there was a big flood in the river, it would affect his house. Therefore, even though he received the information that ‘flood is coming’ on the morning of August 10, he could not predict the situation of the disaster that it could cause.

As he was preparing to leave his house, the police called and said, “The flood in Bhotekoshi has caused a lot of damage in Timure of Rasuwa. The big flood is moving fast. All of you should move towards a safe place. We request you to go further above Dhunge Chowk,” he said, “Is the flood too big?” ”

However, even with the warning of ‘too big’, the actual situation of the flood did not seem to be serious. “It was time for my granddaughter to go to school. I felt that I should leave with everyone,” Pyakurel said. Then, as he was preparing to leave the house with his family members, the flood of the Trishuli river increased unnaturally. The flood surrounded the house from all sides. Within a few minutes, Dhunge Bazaar and the surrounding settlements were flooded.

The security personnel rescued six people, including five members of Pyakurel’s family and a neighbour, who were trapped in the house. His house, which managed to save his life amidst the floods, is now known as ‘Green House’. “We had received information, but we did not believe that such a big flood would come. When the flood came in front of our eyes, there was no time to go to a safe place,” he said.

When you go to see the flood, you go to see the flood

Shashi Dangol of Vidur-10, Vetrawati, also received information from his friend that a big flood was coming shortly after the flood damaged Timure. After some time, a mike was also received from the Vetrawati police station, “Flood is coming, go to a safe place, a big flood is coming.” ”

Dangol, who made his own identity in painting, was also active in the social sector. He urged the locals of Vetrawati Bazaar to close their shops and businesses and move to safer places. However, he himself went to the river bank to see the flood situation as he was urging others to be safe. Before he could reach the river, a crowd came from all sides surrounded him. “I was going to the river to see the flood, but suddenly the flood came from all sides. A few seconds saved my life,” Dangol said.

The muscle in his leg has been torn in the flood. However, the sight of his friends and neighbors being swept away by the trident in front of his eyes rather than the physical injuries has pained him. “He swept away his friends and neighbors in front of his eyes. I will never forget that scene in my life,” he said emotionally, “I knew that a big flood was coming, but I did not know how big it was.” ”

I lost my own family while running to inform others

Karma Tamang, a resident of Tiru in Uttargaya Rural Municipality-1 of Rasuwa, has a deep grip. He had been living in a pit on the bank of the Trishuli River in Uttargaya-5 for the last 10 years after he was displaced by the Gorkha earthquake.

On August 26, when he got the news that the flood was advancing from Timure, he rushed to reach out to more than 250 families living in the valley and nearby Satbise. However, within about 10 minutes of spreading the information, the flood reached the settlement.

He escaped from the flood and saved his life, but lost 15 members of his family, including his parents, wife. More than 100 people of the settlement are still missing. “We knew that a big flood was coming. But we did not know how big the flood was. It would be like last year (July 7, 2002), but it would take a long time for the floods to come, but we could not breathe,” Tamang said.

Information reached, but the size of the risk was not understood

The flood of August 10 spread very fast from Timure to the lower coastal areas via Rasuwagadhi, Ghattekhola. Although the flood information reached the residents of the Trishuli river from Timure, the estimated damage was many times bigger than imagined.

According to Bishnu Shrestha of Bidur-1, Dhunge, his grandfather had told him that there was a big flood in Trishuli in 2018 as well. He remembers that there were no human beings at that time, and the physical damage was normal. “My grandfather used to tell me that there was a big flood in 2018 BS. Now, I have made a four-ropani paddy field about 300 meters away from the Trishuli River and at an altitude of about 100 meters,” Shrestha said.

Many people did not think that such a big destruction would happen, even though they knew that the flood was coming. The settlements around the rivers including Timure, Syafrubesi, Mailung, Shanti Bazaar, Vetravati, Tupche, Trishuli and Devighat were destroyed by the flood in a minute.

According to Shambhu Prasad Regmi, Chief District Officer of Nuwakot, there is a challenge in understanding the seriousness of the floods. According to him, as important as it is to reach the information on time during a disaster, it is equally important to understand its seriousness and reach a safe place immediately.

CDO Regmi said, “Many people could not believe and understand the information disseminated about a big flood in clear weather and sunny environment. ”

The Bhotekoshi flood has shown that along with the flow of information during the disaster, it is equally important to understand its seriousness and follow it. Even if the information was received that the flood was coming, many people lost the opportunity to reach a safe place by taking it lightly. Therefore, as soon as the warning of the disaster is received, it is necessary to understand its seriousness and take precautions and go to a safe place.