India, Aug. 30 -- At first, Dipak Tamang thought the ground was shaking. Then he saw a wall of water, mud and stones racing towards the houses along the Bhotekoshi river in Timure market, and realised there was nowhere to go but up.

Survivors of the floods have described scenes of extraordinary terror - desperate climbs towards higher ground, homes collapsing around them and people being swept away as torrents of water, mud and debris tore through towns and villages, washing away everything on its way, on Wednesday. The death toll crossed 650 on Saturday, while more than 2,400 people remained missing. Nearly 2,500 people were evacuated as rescue teams raced against time amid intermittent rainfall in the flood-affected regions.

For some,...