Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 2
Pyakurel Family's 3-Story House Survives Nepal Glacier Flood, Becoming Viral 'Miracle House'
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 2

Pyakurel Family's 3-Story House Survives Nepal Glacier Flood, Becoming Viral 'Miracle House'

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 2

Summary

  • A 3-story green house in Dhunge Bazaar remained standing after a torrent of water, mud and debris destroyed nearly everything around it in last week's Nepal flood.
  • A massive glacier collapse in the Himalayan region between Nepal and Tibet triggered the deluge, which battered the Pyakurel family home for more than an hour and forced them from a third-floor balcony to the roof.
  • Chhatra Bahadur Pyakurel, 67, said he had just returned after dropping his grandson at the school bus when the flood hit, leaving the family to wait helplessly as debris piled higher.
  • Video of the family trapped above the raging water spread widely on social media, turning the surviving home into a local attraction dubbed the 'miracle house' or 'viral house.'

Insights

Was the survival of Nepal's viral green house truly a miracle, or a hidden lesson in modern engineering and placement?
Does celebrating one surviving home distract from the massive loss of life caused by climate-driven glacier collapses?
With satellites detecting glacier movement months prior, could this devastating Himalayan flood have been predicted before it struck?