Nepal’s Flood Survivors Rebuild Lives Amid Loss

Oct 20, 2026

Nuwakot (Nepal), Oct 19 (ANI): Inside a tin-roofed room, Nangsi Tamang spreads red clay across the floor. As the clay dries, she and her husband, Singhbir Tamang, prepare to settle into their new home in Khalte, Rasuwa, after their settlement was swept away by ice, water and debris on August 26. The elderly couple lost almost everything, escaping with only the clothes they were wearing when relatives called to warn them of the impending flood. Along with other residents living near the river, they rushed to higher ground, managing to save their lives as the disaster struck. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake destabilised the land, increasing the risk of landslides and forcing the Tamang community to relocate to the riverbank settlement of Khalte. The Tamang couple also lost relatives in the flood who remain missing, while other survivors are grappling with the loss of as many as 32 close family members. The Tamang, one of Nepal’s major indigenous communities, share deep cultural, social and livelihood ties with their ancestral lands. Reconstruction is expected to require around five billion US dollars and could take at least a decade.