As raging floodwaters swept away vehicles, buildings and belongings in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, one 40-year-old green-painted house remained largely intact.
The house, located near the Trishuli River, has since become one of the most striking images from the devastating floods, with pictures showing it standing amid the destruction around it.
But why did the house survive when structures nearby were swept away?
Its owner, Prakash, said the building’s resilience could partly be traced to its strong foundation and the quality of the materials used when it was built about four decades ago.
People were standing on a house balcony when a devastating flash flood suddenly struck the Nepal–Tibet border region. With floodwaters surrounding them, there was no clear way out pic.twitter.com/XtjWOdgIYs
— Surajit (@surajit_ghosh2) August 28, 2026
Speaking to The Lallantop, an India Today sister channel, Prakash said the house was deliberately built strong because of its proximity to the river.
“We had also spent quite a lot on making the house strong because it was located close to the river,” he said.
According to Prakash, two or three layers of road material had also been placed underneath the building, strengthening its foundation.
The house itself survived, but the lower portion was badly damaged, with vehicles, shop materials and other belongings swept away by the floodwaters.
Inside the building, Prakash and five members of his family were forced to climb to the highest point as the water rose as high as the fourth floor.
They remained trapped for about an hour to an hour and a half before people from a nearby toll area rescued them using a pipe and rope.
Despite the destruction around them, the family survived. The house remains standing, leaving behind a remarkable image of one structure amid the devastation caused by the flood.
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