Nepal, Oct. 10 -- One July afternoon in Gaur, after weeks of drought, the long-awaited rain finally arrived. Children were splashing in puddles, laughing and dancing with their friends.

But while rain in the plains brings relief, fear settles in when it pours in the mountains to the north for too long. That is when the floods are unleashed.

Madhes Province suffered a prolonged drought in June and July - wells went dry, paddy fields were desiccated, and parts of the Tarai suffered a cholera outbreak because of contaminated water.

When the monsoon rains finally came last week, it arrived with a vengeance. Aside from the physical scars of droughts and floods, these weather extremes also leave scars that are less visible: in the minds and ...