Nepal-Tibet Floods: A Hydropower Engineer’s Tale of Survival
River water smashed into the tunnel and chased me for 20 minutes, Pemba Dundu Tamang, a Nepalese hydropower engineer, told the BBC. He shares his harrowing experience as floods devastated his community and claimed the lives of his family members.
Last week, Nepal was struck by devastating flash floods, with a death toll exceeding 1,000 and thousands still missing. Among the missing are many hydropower workers, particularly those laboring in tunnels along the Trishuli River.
Tamang recalls the sudden strong gust of air that preceded the flood: "I ran towards the tunnel entrance," he said, “the water was chasing behind me and I was running ahead of it." He lost several family members, including his mother, elder brother, sister-in-law, and three of their children, who were at home when the floods struck.
The Upper Trishuli 3B Hydropower Project, where Tamang and his colleagues were working, was designed to generate additional electricity for Nepal’s grid. The plant involved a complex network of tunnels, and rescuers are currently focused on search and rescue efforts, pumping air into the tunnels to aid in the operation.
"I was almost unconscious with shock. I could not think clearly," Tamang said, describing his flight from the deluge that followed him uphill. His colleague, Itha Ghale, echoed his account, stating the powerful gust of air nearly blew them away as they sprinted.
In the aftermath, Tamang realized his family’s fate. “I could see where my house should have been. There was nothing left. That was when I realized everything was gone," he said, expressing a profound sense of loss.
