Kathmandu, Oct. 15 -- When the Bhotekoshi flood tore through Nuwakot on August 26, construction contractor Shailendra Raj Pyakurel was at the district office of the Federation of Contractors' Associations of Nepal in Bidur. As reports came in that the torrent had swept through Trishuli Bazar and Dhunge, he tried to call home. No one could be reached.

The flood destroyed his concrete house and swept away 23 ropanis of land, turning his neighbourhood into a wasteland. His uncle's daughter-in-law and granddaughter remain missing. He no longer knows how many people from his village were swept away, and has stopped counting.

"For the first day or two, I was at a loss about what to do," said Pyakurel, who heads the federation's Nuwakot chapte...