Yunisha Amatya Escapes Life-Threatening Flood Along Bhote Koshi-Trishuli River

“Floodwaters swept away two people right before my eyes, but I survived by just 10 seconds,” says Yunisha Amatya from Battar, Nuwakot. She is currently studying in grade 11 through English medium at the local Tribhuvan Trishuli School. On Wednesday, when the flood struck, she was at school. During class, teachers informed the students that before returning home, they heard that the dam of a nearby hydropower project located upstream from the marketplace had burst due to the flooding.
Initially, Yunisha called her father at home and asked him to come and pick her up. However, as everyone began to flee, she started running alongside her friends. Near the Trishuli bridge, she was nearly caught by the rushing floodwaters.
“We survived by the margin of just 10 seconds—my friends and I,” she recounts. Yunisha recalls witnessing two individuals being swept away by the floodwaters right before her eyes.