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The ‘Unique’ Communications That Saved Lives Before Nepal’s Devastating Flood

Survivors and experts say that instant word-of-mouth warnings may have saved hundreds of lives on August 26.

A view of Langtang Lirung, a mountain in Langtang National Park, Nepal, from the southeast. A glacier collapse on the north face of the mountain is believed to be the proximate cause of the devastating flash floods on August 26, 2026.

Families and experts in Nepal have told of the devastating flood that killed over 900 and the little-known cultural phenomenon that may have saved even more lives from being lost.

According to those on the ground, while the waters surged through villages and left over 4,200 missing around the border between Nepal and China, some families had advanced warning of the imminent disaster.

“In Nepal, people-to-people information sharing is quite good and also a unique phenomenon,” Dr Basanta Raj Adhikari, the director of the Centre for Disaster Studies at the Institute of Engineering at Tribhuvan University in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, told The Diplomat.

According to Adhikari, in times of an environmental disaster such as an earthquake, landslide, or flood such as the one witnessed on August 26, news travels fast, with villages higher up in the mountains quickly passing information to those in the lower lands, and warning residents that danger is on the way.

“People upstream give information to those lower down so that they can save themselves,” Basanta said.

This informal method of sounding the alarm appears to have worked for some families along the Trishuli River where the flood waters arose. These included Rita Tamang, who lives in Daring, Gajuri, along the Prithvi Highway which sits beside the waterway.

“Before the flood came, we had moved a little higher up from our house, but we still witnessed the flood very clearly. It was absolutely terrifying. The flood was not just carrying a huge amount of water; it was also sweeping away all kinds of things, causing massive destruction. Our house was also badly damaged, with almost half of it destroyed,” the 34-year-old housewife told The Diplomat.

“We knew about the flood coming from Rasuwagadhi about two to four hours beforehand. But we had never seen a flood this severe and terrifying before. In fact, we had never witnessed anything like this in our lives.”

Tamang said that the flood completely washed away three concrete bridges that vehicles used to cross the river, and destroyed a key suspension bridge in the area.

It was Tamang’s brother, 32-year-old Bikram Tamang, who helped to save her life.

Bikram Tamang said that he had been at the China-Nepal border working as a truck driver and transporting goods from the border to Kathmandu, Birgunj, Pokhara, and other cities in Nepal.

After delivering the goods, drivers usually return with empty trucks, Tamang said, and Bikram had just dropped off a delivery when he got news of a torrent of water approaching.

Rita Tamang’s brother Bikram Tamang, 32, who warned her of the approaching flood but remains missing. (Photo courtesy Rita Tamang)

“His friends informed him that a dam had apparently burst and that a massive flood had come. They told everyone to stay safe and not to go near the riverbank,” she said. “From there, my brother directly called us at home, and that is how we came to know........

© The Diplomat