Australian family fled up a mountain from flooding in Nepal
A couple from the Australian city of Bundaberg escaped devastating flooding in the Nepalese village of Betrawati by climbing a mountain with their three-year-old daughter. Pramila Dangal and Clinton Baker had travelled to Nepal to visit family when a glacier collapse caused catastrophic flooding on August 26.
As ABC News Australia reports, village residents had about 15 minutes of warning before the torrent of water surged into the village. The family ran up the mountain, while Baker carried their daughter Prammisha in his arms.
Homes swallowed by the torrent
From the mountain, the couple watched as the flow of water and debris swallowed homes and people below. According to Baker, people tried to save themselves on the roofs of three- and four-storey buildings. He also said the waves were higher than the structures themselves.
Baker said that when the torrent struck buildings, they collapsed. He heard a roar that, he said, could be felt through the ground, and described the experience as traumatic for his family and other people.
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Relatives are still being searched for
The Dangal family home, where she was born and raised, was washed away by the flood. The woman said that along with the house, she lost family memories and many photographs from her childhood.
Flooding and landslides washed away homes in Nuwakot District and downstream. More than a week after the disaster, the couple continued searching for many of Dangal's relatives. She posted search notices on Facebook every day, and the family fears that none of these missing relatives survived.
The couple, who own a restaurant in Bundaberg, travelled to Nepal for family ceremonies. It was their daughter's first trip to the country where her mother spent her childhood.
