Nepal Floods: Owner Of 'Green House' Shares Survival Story, Says "We Got A Second Life" - NDTV

**Nepal Floods: Owner of “Green House” Shares Survival Story, Says “We Got a Second Life”** *By INDGovernment.com Staff*

The monsoon season turned catastrophic in early August 2024 when unprecedented rains triggered flash floods and landslides across Nepal’s central and eastern districts. The deluge swept away homes, roads and bridges, leaving at least 1,252 people dead and thousands more displaced, according to the Nepalese government’s disaster management agency. Entire villages were submerged, and pilgrims who had set out for the sacred mountain of Muktinath were forced to seek refuge on higher ground, while families in the hardest‑hit areas held mock funerals for loved ones still missing. The scale of the disaster has reignited a national debate on climate loss and damage, with experts warning that warming temperatures are intensifying glacial melt and extreme rainfall events in the Himalayas.

Amid the devastation, Prakash Sharma, the 48‑year‑old proprietor of the “Green House” guesthouse in the flood‑stricken town of Dhanusha, recounted his harrowing escape. On the night of August 2, rising waters breached the riverbank and slammed into his two‑story wooden structure, lifting the roof and forcing Sharma and his family onto the roof as the building was swept downstream. “We clung to the balcony railings while the house floated like a raft,” Sharma said in an interview with NDTV. Local volunteers and a rescue boat arrived just in time to pull them from the raging current. Though the “Green House” was reduced to splintered timbers, Sharma emerged uninjured and described the experience as a rebirth: “We got a second life; it taught us the value of every breath and the power of community.”

The personal narrative mirrors the broader resilience of Nepal’s flood‑hit communities. Across the affected districts, residents have organized communal clean‑up drives, set up temporary shelters, and performed traditional rites to honor the missing. International aid agencies, together with Nepal’s Ministry of Home Affairs, have mobilized resources for emergency relief, while the government has pledged to accelerate reconstruction of critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, climate activists and policy makers are pressing the global community to honor the loss‑and‑damage fund, arguing that the increasing frequency of such disasters stems from climate change. As Sharma looks toward rebuilding his guesthouse, he joins countless Nepalese who, despite the trauma, remain determined to restore their homes and livelihoods, hopeful that the tragedy will spur stronger safeguards against future calamities.