Nuwakot · ACTIVE · 2026-09-08
Carrying Her Brother Through a Disaster That Took Everything
Your name
Sonika
Age
13
Municipality
Bhaise
Life before the disaster
Sonika was 13 years old and a Grade 7 student living in Bhaise village in Nuwakot District. She lived with her parents, Som Bahadur and Bhagawati Nagarkoti, her 9-year-old sister Monika, and her 3-year-old brother Sajan. Bhaise wasn't simply somewhere the family happened to live. Her father, Som Bahadur, said he had lived there his entire life, as had his father and grandfather. According to him, their family had been part of the settlement for around six generations. Their house and property were therefore part of a long family history. Before the disaster, Sonika's life appears to have been centered on the ordinary things you'd expect for a 13-year-old: going to school, spending time with friends, being at home with her siblings and family, and growing up in the same village her family had inhabited for generations. The article specifically contrasts that ordinary life with what happened afterward, saying that "school, friends, home" suddenly became uncertain. There's also a painful piece of family history. On the morning of the flood, Sonika was home from school with Monika and Sajan because her parents were performing rituals marking the death anniversary of their eldest son. So the family had already experienced the loss of a child before the flood occurred. Then, within minutes, almost everything materially connecting Sonika to that earlier life disappeared. She ran uphill carrying 3-year-old Sajan while their ancestral home was swept away behind them. The flood destroyed their home, possessions and family property. Afterward, the family had to shelter in a school with essentially only the clothes they were wearing.
Family before the disaster
Before the disaster, the Nagarkoti family lived together in Bhaise, Nuwakot, in a home connected to a very long family history. Sonika's father, Som Bahadur Nagarkoti, 50, had lived in Bhaise his entire life. His father and grandfather had lived there before him, and UNICEF says the family had been settled there for around six generations. The household included Som Bahadur, his wife Bhagawati, and their children Sonika (13), Monika (9), and Sajan (3). The family had also previously lost their eldest son; in fact, on the morning the flood struck, the parents were performing rituals for the anniversary of his death. There are small details that give us a glimpse of their everyday life. They kept chickens, because Bhagawati was checking the family's chicken coop when she noticed the flood approaching. Sonika normally attended school and was in Grade 7. Her younger siblings lived at home with the family. Their home wasn't just a recently rented or temporary place. Som describes losing his ancestral property, his own possessions, and the family home, which fits with the documented six-generation connection to Bhaise.
School attended
None
College attended
None
Occupation
None
Home, business, farm and livestock before the disaster
Before the disaster, Sonika Nagarkoti and her family lived in Bhaise, Nuwakot, on ancestral property connected to their family for around six generations. Their home and belongings represented generations of family life in the village. The family also kept chickens in a coop near their home, which Sonika’s mother, Bhagawati, was checking shortly before she noticed the approaching flood. While the family clearly had ancestral property, reliable reports do not confirm that they operated a farm or business, nor do they confirm ownership of cattle, buffalo, goats, or other livestock.
What happened during the disaster
During the August 26, 2026 flash flood, Sonika’s family received a warning from her uncle, who worked at a hydropower plant in Rasuwa, that a massive flood was heading toward their village of Bhaise, Nuwakot. They had only minutes to escape. Sonika’s mother handed her 3-year-old brother Sajan to her and told her to run. The 13-year-old carried him uphill and through the jungle while people shouted for everyone to reach higher ground. When Sonika looked back, she saw their family home being swept away. She became separated from her parents and could not reach them by phone, leaving her terrified and unsure whether they had survived. Meanwhile, her mother Bhagawati fled barefoot after watching their house collapse, desperately calling for her children. The flood swept away roads, vehicles, homes, possessions, and the family's ancestral property. About an hour later, Sonika, Sajan, Monika, and their parents were safely reunited.
Where you were
When the flood struck on August 26, 2026, Sonika was at home in Bhaise village, Nuwakot District. She had stayed home from school that day with her 9-year-old sister Monika and 3-year-old brother Sajan, while her parents were performing rituals for the death anniversary of their eldest son.
People, property, home and business losses
For Sonika Nagarkoti’s family specifically, you can describe the losses in one paragraph like this: People, Property, Home & Livelihood Losses: Sonika’s immediate family—her parents Som Bahadur and Bhagawati, 13-year-old Sonika, 9-year-old Monika, and 3-year-old Sajan—all survived the flood and were reunited, so there was no confirmed loss of life within this household. However, their home in Bhaise, Nuwakot, was completely swept away, along with their possessions and ancestral property connected to roughly six generations of the family. Her father said that essentially everything he and his family owned was gone, leaving them with little more than the clothes they escaped in. Their road and surrounding village infrastructure were also destroyed. The family kept chickens, but the available UNICEF reporting does not confirm the loss of a business, commercial farm, or other livestock, so those should not be presented as facts. After the disaster, the family had to take shelter in a school on higher ground.
How education was interrupted
NO schools are left in the area
How work was interrupted
No work left in the area
Where you live now (general area only)
We live in the school shelter
Current condition
onika and her family survived and remain together, but they have been displaced after losing their home, possessions and ancestral property. They have been staying in temporary shelter at a school in Nuwakot while trying to recover. Sonika's education has been disrupted, and the children are coping with fear and trauma from the flood. Humanitarian organizations, including UNICEF and government partners, are providing emergency assistance to flood-affected families, but the Nagarkoti family's long-term housing and rebuilding situation remains uncertain.
Family remaining
Everyone is safe.
Current working status
no work
Are you currently attending school?
no
Financial situation (optional)
nothing is left
Recovery updates
No updates yet.