Bandula Jayasekara in Gadhi, Nepal
It was around seven in the morning when the Samari River broke its banks and death came calling to the remote area of Gadhi in southern Nepal.
Local farmer Keth Badhur ran for his life along with his family, but the torrential floodwaters showed no mercy. They snatched away his 24-year-old wife and four-year-old son.
His elderly mother, daughter and brother managed to escape, mainly due to the rescue efforts of the Nepalese army.
As Keth recounts the terrifying and tragic day, his mother holds him tightly, weeping, still full of fear as well as despair. This is the cry of just one shattered flood-stricken Nepali family among tens of thousands struggling to put their lives back together.
The Samari has spared little, with most villages in the area severely affected.
While the monsoon floods in South Asia have grabbed the attention of the world’s media, no journalist or TV cameras have reached this corner of Nepal, some 230 km south of Kathmandu. The hardship and devastation suffered here has largely gone unrecorded.
Nepal hit hard
The disaster has taken a heavy toll on Nepal. The number of people killed as a result of flooding and landslides stands at 185 and is likely to go higher. Over 37,000 families have been made homeless while 800,000 people have been affected in some way. Roads, bridges and various other infrastructures have been either destroyed or damaged.
Many of the worst affected areas are extremely remote. It took eight hours by jeep from Kathmandu and another seven hours on foot to reach this area that had been ravaged by the swollen Samari River.
The torrential waters struck quickly and mercilessly. While the flooding has subsided, the trail of destruction is evident. Landslides have destroyed houses and buried people alive. Farmland has simply been swept away. Bridges and culverts have been destroyed or damaged.
Extraordinary spirit
The local people struggle on and cross the river on foot several times a day to get to their villages. They risk being swept away in the strong currents but have little option – life has to go on.
These communities are trying to reclaim some degree of normality in their lives but the fear remains. The monsoon is far from over and they know that while they escaped with their lives there is no guarantee of safety.
While some people have moved to safer ground, others remain, hoping the worst is over.
Amid the carnage and destruction, the spirit of the people is remarkable. Deepak, a 15-year-old student lost all his school books in the flood. Worse still, he now has no school to go to.
He followed us through our journey, helping me carry my bags. He remained cheerful and ebullient as we endured a gruelling trek which involved crossing a treacherous river twice, climbing rocks, wading through muddy water and battling through patches of jungle.
While I had fear written over my face, this young boy showed calm and composure beyond his years.
Dairy farmers were crossing the river carrying their milk cans, on a long journey to market in the town of Hetauda. Old men were helped across the river by the younger ones. A young schoolgirl with a heavy bag of rice on her head, assisted her old mother and brother.
Sadness and hardship were etched on their faces, yet still they managed to smile at strangers like me. They were not just a courtesy, but genuine smiles from the heart.
In Dadin village, schools and temples have been swept away. While the local market has managed to reopen, there is little to buy from the few shops able to operate. We had biscuits for lunch and some water from their pots to quench our deep thirst.
With time and exhaustion getting the better of us, we finally had to turn back. But we knew the trail of destruction continued well beyond the reach of our trek.
Reaching out
Pitambar Bastola, the Red Cross Youth President for the area, says Red Cross volunteers have been working around the clock since the floods struck. They have been distributing food, clothes, tents, cooking utensils and medicine.
While immediate relief is important, Bastola stresses that it will take communities three to four months to get back on their feet.
"There is a festival here in September and October but these people will have nothing to celebrate this time. They expect much help from the Red Cross, to bring them relief. But, we need more help from the international community to help these villagers to re-build their lives," Bastola pleads.
In the meantime, the Nepal Red Cross does what it can. As we arrived back in Hetauda, the President Hetauda branch, Surya Chandra Neupani, was on his way with volunteers to distribute food to the flood victims and to discuss the relief effort with local officials.
In this area alone, 1,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged; eight schools have been wrecked, while over 400 hectares of arable land has been ruined robbing the farming community of the means of making a living.
The grief, the hurt and the harm caused by these floods in Nepal continues.