Nepal flood survivors return to shattered hometown

0:00Days after flash floods in Nepal's Trashuli River swept away entire neighborhoods, survivors are returning to see what remains of their homes. The river is rising again and rescuers are warning people to move to higher ground. Now many survivors are packing up the items that they could find in their homes, never to return. Correspondent Adiyabat sent us this report from Dungy Bazar in Nepal. My family has been destroyed. There is nothing left and what will we eat? I have huge debts. Now where will we live? Sitaram Shah has come back to see what's left of his house after the floodstore, through Dungy Bazar town in Nepal. He has lived here with his family for decades, just a few concrete blocks from instanding. After hours of searching, Sitaram managed to recover a handful of belongings. This gas cylinder was left in my house and some clothes and utensils.

1:04I'm devastated. Whatever I earned, I lost it all. Shravan Kumar has come straight from the hospital where his family is being treated. His elderly father sent him to see what's left of their home. It's his first time here since the disaster. Even reaching where he once lived was a struggle. This is now debris. The river used to be here and it was a massive swamp. And anywhere, there could be a hole where a man could get trapped inside. Shravan's family has lived here for generations. Now the town which was one of the thousands of people is almost gone. Only memories remain. I came here to see if there were any belongings left but it looks like nothing is.

2:06There is no point in coming back here. Whatever belongings we had have been swept away by the flood. Shravan finishes searching his phone to the coast. Yes dad, I'm not able to go inside. My room is completely flooded. As you could see here, there's a debris all around. We've been talking to these locals, they've been telling us there are still bodies still trapped inside this debris. They're telling us it's very difficult to take them out. They've been trying for the last couple of days but they know it's a very difficult and daunting task for them. With every passing day, the skill of destruction becomes clearer. In parts of the town, you can still make out the remnants of people's livers. In others, everything is gone. Volunteers and rescue workers here are working day and night, searching for bodies, clearing debris and helping families.

3:09At this site alone, dozens of people are in action. We're very afraid that if another flood comes, it will wipe us out again. While rescuing people, we're getting bitten by insects and suffering injuries. This rescue is very dangerous. Despite the risk the teams aren't giving out, authorities say thousands of people have already been rescued from this town. Look at the smart line here, almost everything beneath it has simply disappeared. People here tell us that some homes at small business were swept away into the river in less than 20 seconds. Others that are still standing are buried in thick mud. What's more disturbing is that people had lost not just their homes, but their livelihood still. Many of them ran small businesses from the ground floors of their homes and those businesses have been washed away along with their homes. We hear about the pain for realities with which this community is living. A kilometer away from the site, Shogun and her brother keep returning to this spot.

4:14But they haven't found the courage to go inside what's left of their house. My heart went let me go in. We've lost everything, our friends and relatives who also lost everything have left us behind. Since the flood, I've been struggling with the stress of it all. And while some families are coming through the rooms of their homes, others are still searching loud ones. In the capital Kathmandu, this hospital has become a gathering point for grieving families. Families put up photos and phone number of the missing hoping someone will recognize them. This couple comes back every day, waiting for news of their relatives. I'm here for solving my father-in-law and mother-in-law. They have been lost since four days in Kisuli River, Florida. And I'm here for solving their dead bodies.

5:15I think it's impossible to find them alive so rarely. I have to find if any remaining dead body is there. Atore DC, identifying that dead has become one of the hardest parts of this disaster. The bodies that are recovered are first cleaned. Doctors then conduct an examination and a post-mortem, after which they are tagged and kept inside. It is difficult to identify them because their faces are unrecognizable. The bodies brought here are completely disfigured. We have to rely on DNA testing. Only then can we identify them. Back in Dungipazar, survival came down to chance. Many said they had almost no warning before the water hit. Now for those who survive with the floods, the question is what comes next? Whether there is anything left to rebuild? And whether they will ever again feel safe beside this river?