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For millions on social media, the viral footage of a green house standing defiantly against raging floodwaters in Nepal was a shocking spectacle, but for those who live there, the viral seconds captured a terrifying brush with death as the family huddled inside while surrounding homes collapsed around them.
Laxmi Pandey, one of the residents of the now-famous house, recalled the harrowing ordeal during the August 26 flash floods along the Trishuli River, as six people were trapped inside the house before being saved by neighbours. Pandey said she and her husband were away at their shop, located about five minutes from the house, when the disaster struck. She recalled desperately trying to warn her mother-in-law, who initially refused to believe the danger was real. "From there, my husband and I ran back frantically to save my mother-in-law and my daughter...I told my mother-in-law, 'Mummy ji, a flood is coming, we should run, let's leave quickly.' My mother-in-law said, 'No, such a huge disaster has never happened here before, it won't reach us.' But right at that moment, the old bridge broke, and water gushed over from above. I told her, 'Look, it's coming from there, now we won't be able to run,' Pandey said. With escape no longer possible, her husband, father-in-law and a neighbour rushed into the house as floodwaters surged in, forcing the entire group to retreat upstairs. Describing the terrifying force of the flood, Pandey compared the shaking of her house to the massive 2015 earthquake that struck Nepal. "It felt just like the massive shaking during the 2072 earthquake (in the Nepali calendar). The strong floodwaters from both sides were shaking our house violently," she said. The collapse of a neighbouring house intensified their fear. "There seemed to be no chance of survival. But a few neighbours risked their own lives and came together to rescue us," she said. Reflecting on her family's survival while surrounding homes were destroyed, Pandey said she now considers it an act of god's grace. "Now we all feel very lucky. It is by God's grace. Those four or five people came like manifestations of God to save us. We are thanking God right now. We have been granted a second life," she said. Pandey said that all six people present in the house at the time survived unharmed. The devastating flood that struck Nepal last week has left 939 people dead, while search operations continue for those still missing. A total of 3,925 people are missing, as per the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), which includes 592 foreign nationals. Rescue operations are underway in several districts in Nepal, including Rasuwa and Nuwakot. Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Nepal has issued steps for the identification of the mortal remains of Indian citizens who died in the flood, asking the relatives of the victims to facilitate identification through photographs or by providing DNA profiles. (ANI)
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