Kathmandu, Sept. 16 -- The devastating August 26 floods have all but wiped out Timure, the main settlement in Gosainkunda Rural Municipality-2 in Rasuwa.

The area between Timure and the Rasuwagadhi border crossing has been reduced to a field of mud and debris. More than 250 houses and other structures were swept away, including hotels, shops, the customs office, other government buildings and checkpoints operated by the Nepali Army, Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force.

Only six damaged houses remain standing in Timure. Timber, gas cylinders and other debris are scattered across the floodplain. The few surviving structures are now the only visible evidence that a settlement once stood here.

An estimated 3,000 to 3,500 people may hav...