Nuwakot, Sept. 1 -- For millions on social media, the viral footage of a green house standing defiantly against raging floodwaters in Nepal was a shocking spectacle, but for those who live there, the viral seconds captured a terrifying brush with death as the family huddled inside while surrounding homes collapsed around them.

Laxmi Pandey, one of the residents of the now-famous house, recalled the harrowing ordeal during the August 26 flash floods along the Trishuli River, as six people were trapped inside the house before being saved by neighbours.

Pandey said she and her husband were away at their shop, located about five minutes from the house, when the disaster struck. She recalled desperately trying to warn her mother-in-law, who ...