The Desperate Hunt for Survivors After Nepal’s Deadly Floods

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I am in Nepal, which is recovering from the floods that occurred last week. Hundreds of people died. Hundreds of people are still missing. I talk to survivors, those who have been rescued or rescued and have seen the flood

with their own eyes, and a few things have struck me . The first is their descriptions of the flood itself. Everyone says they've never seen anything like it . It wasn't just water. It was a muddy stream, they

describe, of ice, rocks, and boulders the size of cars and houses, rushing at incredible speed, washing away everything in its path. I was also struck by the stories of momentary decisions that became the difference between life and death.

People described fleeing the water: some ran upstream to escape the flood, but they saw others who chose to run along the riverbank or across the mountain instead of going up, and saw them being swept away by the current.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing, and I am speaking with the families of those missing, including those of hydroelectric plant workers who may be trapped in tunnels, engine rooms, or other areas of the facilities. Rescue operations are incredibly

complex and difficult. It rains every day. Helicopters have difficulty landing near rescue sites because the ground is very eroded, and in the tunnels the dirt has hardened and filled with rocks, boulders, and silt, so excavators and dump trucks

are needed to clear the way and search for people. At the moment, it's a desperate search. A week has passed, but today, army soldiers and other rescuers will still be wading through tunnels in the affected areas , trying

to find survivors.