Bajhang, April 23 -- Dashain, Nepal's grandest festival, had filled Seku village in ward 9 of Kedarsyun Rural Municipality with joy and festivity. Relatives had returned home, friends reunited and the village echoed with laughter and celebration.

But just a day after Teeka, Dashain's main day, the sky turned dark with hovering clouds. On the evening of October 16, 2021 rain began pouring relentlessly. Nearby streams roared louder with every passing hour and soon the roads and trails turned into rivers of muddy water.

Sher Damai, aged 65, of Seku village just below the rural road was preparing to go to bed. But the noise from the nearby stream unsettled him. A sense of impending doom filled his heart. While the rest of his family slept p...