On 26th August 2026, an unprecedented catastrophe descended upon northern Nepal. A glacial (ice accumulation from years of snow) collapse unleashed a violent torrent of water that mixed up with mud, rock and debris, and swept through the communities below at more than 120 miles per hour. Homes disappeared. Roads and bridges were destroyed. Families were separated in minutes. By September 9, the United Nations reported 1,367 people confirmed dead, more than 5,100 still missing, and over 13,600 rescued.
People were standing on buildings, bridges, or cars, watching the rushing mud and flood waters, thinking that it will just pass by and leave them untouched. There were those who were running away on hearing the noise of the rushing mud…yet, the power and speed of the muddied water were too much for the buildings…it was too much for the poor people running for dear life.
In seconds and with great fury and anger, the muddied flood swept away whole villages, storey buildings, metal bridges, roads, trees, buses, and everything in its path, reminding me of the terrible death that befell the antediluvians in the age of Noah. Watching the videos of the catastrophic event, it dawned on me how helpless and vulnerable humans are.
All the communication and transportation infrastructure were gone in minutes. Humans, homes, animals, cars…were covered in mud. But behind every number was a human being. A mother. A father. A child. Someone’s husband. Someone’s daughter. Someone who had awakened that morning expecting an ordinary day.
Imagine hearing the water approaching before you could see it: the roar growing louder, people shouting warnings, families running for higher ground. Imagine watching familiar streets disappear beneath brown, violent water. Imagine reaching desperately for someone you love and discovering that the current is stronger than your hands.
For thousands, there was nowhere far enough to run. Some survivors were trapped underground. In one extraordinary case, two hydropower workers survived nine days inside a flooded tunnel, sheltering in an air pocket while one drank muddy water and the other prayed. They were eventually found alive. For many others, rescue never came. And it is difficult to look upon such scenes without thinking about one of the most terrifying accounts preserved in Scripture:
“And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.” — Genesis 7:19 (KJV).
Watching the scenes at Nepal gave me a glimpse of the fate suffered by the antediluvians. They had no chance at survival. How can you fight rushing mud? It’s thick, heavy, strong, and suffocating! Just like in Nepal, many of them rushed to higher ground, mountains, and hills while others climbed trees, but the floods, earthquakes, surging springs of water from the breaking-up earth, tornadoes, and storms were so powerful that they were also quickly uprooted into the furious waters below. For those in Noah,a day, it wasn’t just the rain, the storms, tornadoes, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, breaking up earth, etc all combined to sweep them from existence.
The Bible summarizes their deaths in a few solemn words: “And all flesh died that moved upon the earth.” — Genesis 7:21 (KJV). And Genesis contains its own terrible aftermath:
“And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground… and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.” — Genesis 7:23 (KJV)
Bodies of dead people from the Nepal catastrophe were found floating in rivers in India and parts of neighboring Tibet (China). Thousands are still buried under the mud and rubble that can never be unearthed.
We always wonder if such evil calamities occur to people because of their sins…but similar catastrophes happened in the time of Jesus when the tower of Siloam killed 18 people offering sacrifices in Jerusalem. Around the same time, some Galileans had been killed by Pilate while they were offering sacrifices to God, mingling their blood with their sacrifices. When these calamities befell those unfortunate ones, many Jews believed that it was as a result of the sins of those people…but Jesus told the Jews that they were not killed because they were wicked than the rest of the world, but if the Jews don’t also repent, they shall perish likewise (Luke 13:1-5).
This happened in AD70 when Jerusalem was surrounded by Roman armies, placed under siege, and razed down. Millions who sought refuge at the alter were annihilated, just like the Galileans and millions more perished from starvation, war, and falling stones from the crumbling walls and towers just like the unfortunate souls at Siloam. Hence, the warning of Jesus came on the Jews who rejected His entreaties.
Likewise, we should beware of forgetting such calamities, which are warnings and foreshadows of things to come as the world gets deeper and deeper into sin and evil. While those who died in Nepal are not sinners above those of us in other parts of the world, we should learn from their incidents and deeply turn away from our evil ways. As the world nears its end, we shall hear of more and more of such calamities orchestrated by natural events over which we have no power or control.
“For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” — Isaiah 26:9, KJV
