A woman was found alive 10 days after devastating floods struck northern Nepal, an extraordinary survival amid widespread destruction and loss of life. Chandika Shrestha was discovered trapped beneath debris in her nearly buried three-story home in Betrawati, a town heavily damaged by the disaster, and later airlifted to a hospital in Kathmandu for treatment.

The floods, caused by a glacial collapse in the Himalayas, unleashed massive tsunamilike waves through valleys on the border of Nepal and the Tibet region of China. The disaster claimed at least 1,300 lives, with around 5,000 people still reported as missing, as of Saturday. Entire communities along the rivers were swept away, including Betrawati, where most structures were destroyed or displaced by the torrents.

Rescue workers and local residents heard faint cries for help coming from what remained of Shrestha’s home, which was submerged in sludge with only its roof and upper windows visible. A group of villagers initially mistook the sounds for ghostly noises but quickly realized someone was alive inside. Emergency personnel arrived after a group cleared paths through the mud, providing water and extracting her from the site before flying her to medical care.

Shrestha’s survival came nearly simultaneously with another remarkable rescue. The Nepali army announced the recovery of a Chinese worker trapped in a hydropower tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 site. Both individuals endured well beyond the typical 72-hour survival window following such natural disasters, raising hopes for others still missing.

Before the floods, Shrestha’s family operated a clothing shop in Betrawati for three generations. She was at home when the floodwaters struck, eventually reaching a higher floor of the building. Her husband, Ananda Lal Shrestha, urged neighbors to escape but did not survive. His fate remains unknown.

Local officials report that the house where Shrestha was found may have been carried roughly 219 yards downstream by the force of the floods. Rescue operations were hampered by the deep sludge covering the area, making navigation and searching difficult. Many families, including Shrestha’s, had already held symbolic funeral rites for missing loved ones, reflecting the high likelihood that those unaccounted for had perished.

Betrawati’s landscape was transformed by the disaster: the town’s bazaar with approximately 200 shops was obliterated, bridges were destroyed, and key landmarks such as the Ram temple and police station were swept away or severely damaged. The silence in the town was punctuated only by the river’s roar and the occasional sound of insects following loss of power to surviving elevated homes.

The rescue has provided a rare moment of hope for the town’s residents amid the grim task of recovery and grieving, highlighting the resilience of those affected by the disaster and the ongoing efforts of rescue teams operating under challenging conditions.