The striking survival of a three-storey green-painted house amid the devastation in Nepal’s flood-hit Trishuli region appears to have a simple geographical explanation -- the hill behind it may have shielded the structure from the full force of the floodwaters.
India Today reached the house, which became the focus of viral footage showing raging floodwaters and debris surging around it as a terrified family remained trapped on its balcony. The family was later rescued.
The house has emerged as one of the most striking images from the devastating floods, standing almost completely intact while buildings, vehicles and other structures in the surrounding area were swept away.
Explaining how the structure survived, a disaster-response expert who visited the site with a team of specialists pointed to the terrain around the house.
"Actually, that house survived due to this hill. You can see easily," the expert said, referring to the hill located immediately behind the structure.
According to the expert, the geographical structure of the area played a crucial role in protecting the house from the full force of the floodwaters. The hill appears to have acted as a natural barrier, changing the path and intensity of the water and debris before they reached the building.
"In my view, the house survived largely because of the hill behind it. You can see it clearly from here. The hill appears to have shielded the house from the full force of the floodwaters and debris. Without this natural barrier, I believe the house could also have been destroyed," he told India Today TV.
"Geographical structure is the main thing. That's why it's safe," the expert added.
Earlier, reports citing an analysis by architectural experts suggested that the house was built with a reinforced-concrete frame and continuous steel reinforcement, giving it a rigid structural skeleton capable of withstanding powerful lateral forces generated by the floodwaters. Its position, slightly away from the main debris channel and on relatively higher ground, may also have helped the structure avoid a direct impact.
For now, the "miracle house" stands as an extraordinary example of how terrain, location and structural strength can determine the fate of a building during an extreme natural disaster.
