'It stood like a serpent right there staring at us': American who survived deadly Nepal flood tells her story

KATHMANDU, NEPAL — Anjana Raja had long dreamed of traveling to Nepal as part of a spiritual journey to Mount Kailash ever since she was a teenager, she said.

When she and her husband finally got to make that dream a reality this month, the California mom of two told ABC News she could not have imagined that trip would force them into survival mode as they found themselves nearly swept up in the deadly landslide flood that hit the region Wednesday.

Nepal survivor Anjana Raja speaks to ABC News.
ABC News

Raja recalled sitting on a bus with her husband traveling to the Chinese border on Wednesday when, all of a sudden, the driver and front passengers fled the bus and she saw the landslide coming toward their vehicle.

“It was water mixed with the mud that was a good 50 to 60 feet high. It stood like a serpent right there staring at us,” Raja told ABC News. “Like a cobra’s head staring at you.”

Firefighters conduct a search and rescue operation at a damaged road leading to Gyirong Port after a mudslide, in Gyirong county, Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, August 28, 2026.
Cnsphoto via Reuters

Raja said she didn’t hesitate and grabbed her sling bag and turned to her husband, Pattabiraman Venkatesan.

“I grabbed him by the collar, and I said, ‘Run, we need to go right now,'” she said.

“I didn’t even give time to act. I just said, ‘Leave the bus right away or we’re gonna die,'” Raja added.

A collapsed bridge and damaged settlements debris and mud covers an area following flash floods, August 28, 2026 in DeviGhat village, Nepal.
Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images

As of Friday, as intense search and rescue efforts continue, 584 people have been reported dead in the floods, according to the Nepal National Disaster Management Authority and Chinese government.

Meanwhile, over 2,400 people were reported missing according to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority and the Chinese government.

Faced with the huge wall of water and mud, the couple and other bus passengers ran to a camp right next to the bus and made their way to higher ground as the water hit and completely flooded the streets, she said.

“We just blindly…climbed. We didn’t even know what direction … There was no guide for us, there was nobody, we were just frantically running. Running, literally running. It was slushy, it was muddy, we were climbing rocks, which was slippery. We just ran for our life,” she said.

“When we reached the second level … I saw the water come up to the slope and move our bus. I told my husband ‘That’s it, we’re gone. We’re going to die,'” she said.

They ultimately made their way up to the third level of the camp and they watched in shock as the wall of water rushed past them.

From their point they could see vehicles, objects and even people be taken in by the water’s power, although the water never reached their level.

“It just came like a roar, it sucked a bunch of buses, SUVs, people, the basecamp, everything — took it in, turned it, turned it all upside down and dumped it into the ground,” Raja said.

Residents salvage belongings from their destroyed home following flash floods, August 28, 2026 in Devighat, Nepal.
Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

Eventually, Raja said she and her husband were able to contact her daughter Amanda, a physician, back in California and they have been in constant contact. The couple also has a college-age son.

Raja commended the actions of first responders, especially how they worked to take care of the most vulnerable victims.

“What I really loved is his focus was not foreign nationals, nor U.S. citizens. He looked at us as humans,” she said of her rescuer.

Raja said that the entire experience has left a long-lasting impression on her.

“I know time will heal but I think, with all this what happened, I think I’ve become stronger mentally, emotionally. I’m not crying so that’s a good thing,” she said.