Chandika Kumari Shrestha, a Nepalese woman, was found alive inside her collapsed home in the devastated Betrawati village 10 days after her family began mourning rites for her death. She had survived in a narrow pocket of air amidst water and mud. Rescuers, led by police officer Mahendra Darnal, heard Shrestha's voice while searching the area on Saturday and found her in a confined space, sending her to an army hospital. The incident occurred in an area where hundreds are still missing, with thousands unaccounted for overall due to catastrophic floods that killed over 1,300 people across Nepal.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A devastating flood and mudslide occurred on August 26 in the Himalayan region, particularly affecting areas along the Nepal-China border. The disaster was triggered by a massive glacial collapse that sent a tsunami-like wall of water, ice, and debris sweeping over the area, killing at least 1,362 people and leaving more than 5,500 missing across both countries.
In Nepal, rescuers have been working tirelessly to locate survivors, with some remarkable stories of rescue emerging. A 64-year-old Nepali woman, Chandika Shrestha, was found alive on the fourth floor of her partially buried house in the Nuwakot district after being trapped for more than 10 days. Another survivor, a man from China, was rescued from a hydropower tunnel.
The disaster has also had a significant impact on nearby villages and towns. The town's market and most residents were affected by the floodwaters, leaving many without homes or livelihoods. Rescuers have been using excavators, shovels, and ground-penetrating radar to scour the affected areas for survivors.
Pakistan has dispatched 100 tonnes of humanitarian assistance to Nepal to support relief efforts, including tents, blankets, mats, hygiene kits, and medicines. The aid is part of a broader international response to the disaster, with many countries offering support to Nepal and China.
In related news, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his condolences to Nepal's government and people, saying that 36 Australians remain missing after the disaster. He also emphasized the importance of finding long-term solutions to address the impact of AI datacentres on local communities, rather than just hosting them for short-term benefits.
Written for “Nepal Flood and Rescue Efforts” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 46 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
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question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
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No political leaning scored for article 5697 · logged 2026-09-06
Woman found alive in home destroyed by Nepal flood, days after family began mourning rites
Rescuers found woman alive inside her collapsed home in the devastated Betrawati village
Believing she had perished in Nepal's deadly floods, the family of Chandika Kumari Shrestha started the ritual of mourning the elderly woman's death.
Ten days later, rescuers found her alive inside her collapsed home in the devastated Betrawati village, where she had survived in a narrow pocket of air amid water and mud.
"
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she → find → water
The four-storey house was swept [away] by the floods and the house was left in the middle of a quicksand.
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house → sweep → quicksand
While walking around it, we heard a voice [say] 'save me,'" police officer Mahendra Darnal said.
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Darnal → walk → me
In a rescue operation on Saturday lasting 45 minutes, Darnal and his team found Shrestha in a confined space and sent her to an army hospital.
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Darnal → last → hospital
"I was in touch with the family, and they had started the 11-day mourning period," Darnal said.
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Darnal → start → period
Shrestha was among the hundreds missing in Betrawati, an area among the hardest hit by the floods in Nepal and engulfed with white deposits compacted almost like concrete.
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Shrestha → miss → concrete
Crews continue to recover scores of dead bodies.
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Crews → continue → bodies
The town's market and most residential buildings, some as tall as four storeys, were almost completely buried under debris left by a torrent that swept through the valley, part of a disaster that killed more than 1,300 people across Nepal.
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that → bury → Nepal
Thousands remain unaccounted for.
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Thousands → remain → ?
Rescue workers wearing hard hats were seen digging with shovels, while some were crawling through the gaps of collapsed buildings periodically blowing whistles to get the attention of anyone trapped and alive.
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some → wear → anyone
Five days earlier, 24 bodies were found in a decomposed state in Betrawati's market area in a building that had contained a small shop, Darnal said.
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Darnal → find → shop
Looking for signs of life
Eleven days since a glacial collapse triggered the devastating floods, close to 5,000 are still missing.
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5,000 → look → floods
Hundreds of bodies have been swept onto the banks of rivers far from the ravaged Rasuwa district.
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Hundreds → sweep → district
In Chitwan, hundreds of kilometres away, several rounds of mass burials have taken place for unidentified and badly decomposed bodies.
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rounds → take → bodies
More than 1,000 dead from catastrophic Nepal-China floods as rescuers search for survivors
Hopes of finding survivors dim a week after catastrophic Nepal flood
Even as hope is beginning to fade, Nepal authorities continue their effort to look for people stuck in tunnels and under the thick deposits of mud that have hardened over buildings.
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that → search → buildings
Since Friday, they have pulled out three people from the tunnels, including a Chinese citizen by the Trishuli river, where more than 900 are believed to be trapped.
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900 → pull → river
Others like Shrestha have survived in extraordinary conditions, including an eight-year-old boy who was also reunited with his mother.
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who → survive → mother
