"House of Miracles": Nepali family survives deadly landslide in turquoise house

In Nepal's Nuwakot district, a family spent nearly two hours trapped on the upper floor of their home, watching as a torrent of water, mud, rocks and debris tore through the area around them. According to Reuters, the house withstood the onslaught — and locals have since dubbed it the "house of miracles."

Footage filmed on Wednesday, August 26, shows the turquoise building standing firm as neighbouring houses are swept away by the raging flood. Laxmi Pandey, who was inside with her family, told the news agency she had already said goodbye to life: "We thought we wouldn't survive." What frightened her most was the thought of her son, who had left for school shortly before the disaster struck. "I thought he would be left all alone. That he would become an orphan," she said. Despite the fear, the family chose to stay together: "If we survive, we survive together. If we die, we die together," she recalled telling herself, repeating a Hindu mantra dedicated to the god Shiva.

Nearly two hours trapped

Pandey's husband, Prakash Pyakurel, remembered those same minutes: "I thought, this is the end. We're together for the last time." He said the family simply sat and waited for what they believed would be their final moment. There was no way out — outside, a solid torrent of water, mud and rocks was raging, and the building found itself under siege for nearly two hours. Water eventually burst into the lower floors, smashing doors and windows, yet the load-bearing structure held — against all odds.

A symbol of the disaster

"I'm so happy. Our family was born again," Pandey said on Sunday, after returning to the house. In the end, every member of the family survived, along with a neighbour. Since then, the turquoise building — nicknamed the "miracle house" on social media — has become one of the symbols of the tragedy: photos and videos show it standing unscathed amid ruined homes, roads and bridges.

The disaster was triggered by the collapse of part of a Himalayan glacier near Nepal's border with Chinese-administered Tibet. A mass of ice and rock plunged into a river, unleashing a powerful wave that swept through mountain valleys and settlements on both sides of the border. In Nepal, the districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading were among the hardest hit. According to official figures, floods in Nepal and China have killed more than 900 people, with over 4,000 still missing.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz