"I Didn't Know Where My Parents Were": Sonika's Escape from Nepal's Devastating Flood
7 September 2026
After catastrophic flooding swept away homes and communities across Nepal, 13-year-old Sonika carried her three-year-old brother to safety. As families struggle to recover, UNICEF is delivering life-saving support to children affected by the disaster.
A torrent of water, mud and debris swept away entire communities in Nepal on 26 August 2026, with over 1,000 killed and thousands more still missing.
As search efforts continue, survivors across the Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts have been cut off from urgent care. Roads and bridges have collapsed. Hydropower, water and telecommunications networks are down. Health facilities have toppled.
In the immediate aftermath, UNICEF has been on the ground, scaling up our emergency response. But we need additional resources to reach the 17,000 children now in need of humanitarian assistance.
"I didn't know where my parents were"
13-year old Sonika was at home with her family in Bhaise, Nuwakot when they heard that a flood was coming.
Within a matter of five minutes, the flood reached Bhaise. Sonika ran uphill carrying her three-year old brother. During the panic, Sonika and her brother were separated from her family. Behind her, the home her family had lived in for six generations was swept away.
Sonika kept running, carrying her brother through the jungle as people around them shouted for everyone to get to higher ground.
“I didn’t know where I was, where my parents were. I couldn’t reach them on the phone.”
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About an hour later, the family was reunited. “In an hour's time I was finally reunited with my family,” said Bhagawati, Sonika’s father. “I was weeping. It was from the relief, I think.”
The family is now sheltering at a school in a settlement higher up from Bhaise, along with other families who fled the floods. They have little more than the clothes on their back.
For the children, the shock of what happened has not gone away.
What is UNICEF doing in Nepal?
Working closely with the Government of Nepal and humanitarian partners, we’re surging life-saving support to keep children and families safe from disease, malnutrition, violence and exploitation – risks that swell after severe flooding.
Pre-positioned supplies will be dispatched to the hardest-hit communities, including medical tents, bed nets, newborn kits and therapeutic food for children with acute malnutrition. Emergency hygiene kits are already reaching thousands of families in need.
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Meanwhile, mental health and psychosocial support teams have been mobilised, and UNICEF is working to identify, register and reunite children missing or separated from their caregivers.
We’re also working with the Government of Nepal to deliver emergency cash assistance to families so they can meet urgent needs and avoid resorting to harmful coping strategies.
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On the ground before, during and after an emergency
Disasters of this scale can’t always be predicted. That’s why UNICEF is on the ground before the news breaks, ready to deploy with life-saving assistance in more than 190 countries and territories. We work with governments and other partners to mobilise rapidly and efficiently when disaster strikes, and we stay on the ground well after the news fades to ensure that children and their communities are able to properly recover.
