A 2-second buffalo delay saved his life, but took his brother: Why Nepal flood survivor cut short grief to help others
A two-second delay caused by a herd of buffaloes saved Sudip Kumar Neupane's life, but took his younger brother instead. Two days after the loss, he was back on the ground helping other flood survivors.
Residents commute across the Trishuli river on a newly installed zipline in the aftermath of flash floods at Bidur, Nuwakot district, Nepal. (Photo: AP)
Two days after floodwaters swept away his younger brother, Sudip Kumar Neupane stopped mourning and went back to work, not for himself, but for the people around him who had lost everything too. The Kathmandu Post reports that the 31-year-old government officer chose to return to relief efforts rather than withdraw into grief, even as he carried the weight of watching his brother and a close colleague disappear beneath the flood.
Neupane works in Uttargaya Rural Municipality in Rasuwa. On 26 August, a glacial collapse in the Langtang region sent a wall of water crashing down the Bhotekoshi river, wiping out settlements in its path. That morning, according to the Post, he had set out to warn villagers of the danger heading their way, riding alongside his 27-year-old brother Pradip, a public health officer, and a colleague known locally as Janak dai. By the day’s end, only Neupane would return.
What happened before the flood hit?
The Post reports that Neupane’s uncle had warned him to stay home that morning, but he felt a duty to alert people in the area. He and Janak rode ahead on one motorcycle, while Pradip travelled with another health worker. At one point, Neupane told his brother to go no further and continue warning people from a safer spot, while he and Janak carried on towards Nayapul.
There, they met a local health official rushing back the other way, who shouted that they would not survive and needed to turn back immediately, the paper said. As they doubled back, a group of buffaloes blocked the road for what Neupane estimated was around two seconds. He believes this brief delay is what allowed the floodwaters to miss him.
How did he describe the flood?
Neupane told the Post that the flood did not feel ordinary, comparing its force to a missile or artillery strike that swept everything away too fast for anyone to react. He said their office was destroyed within five minutes of the water arriving, leaving no time even to pause for breath. He ran uphill and assumed his taller, long-legged brother would have outrun the water too, but Pradip did not survive.
Nepalese officials recover the mortal remains of victims during a search and rescue operation after the devastating flash floods, in Rasuwa, Nepal. (PTI)
Pradip was 27, had recently built a house, and held a master’s degree in public health after his uncle and aunt made sacrifices to fund his education, coming from a family that had grown up with little. Neupane recalled how hard the family had worked to build a better life from difficult beginnings.
The Post reports that after two days of grief, Neupane returned to relief distribution work, despite some people objecting to his presence so soon after his loss. He told the paper he felt he had survived for a reason, and that his responsibility now was to support his family and his community. He said, “I survived by luck,” and added that he intends to keep serving the people around him for as long as he lives.
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Residents commute across the Trishuli river on a newly installed zipline in the aftermath of flash floods at Bidur, Nuwakot district, Nepal. (Photo: AP) 
