On Sunday, the Budhi Gandaki river that once sustained his family tore through villages, sweeping away 200 houses, five bridges, his shop and cattle, and damaging three hydropower plants. No deaths are confirmed, but at least six people are missing. "Everything is gone now", Gurung told AFP. "I now need to look for an alternative place to live." A trekking guide for nearly two decades on the Manaslu circuit, Gurung said he had never seen so many landslides. "In the future, no settlements built along the banks of rivers flowing from the snowy mountains will survive", he said. Other residents are picking through mud to salvage what remains. "I had a banana farm. That is also gone", said Lal Kumari Thapa. "We are left with nothing but a small hut, which was spared." Some lost even more — "Some don't even have a sheet of roofing left. Budhi Gandaki is flowing over it. They don't even have clothes." The flood is the latest in a series of disasters renewing fear in Nepal's vulnerable mountain communities. In August, a catastrophic ice-and-rock collapse in northern Rasuwa district unleashed water and debris that killed more than 1,400 people and left over 5,000 missing, with scientists saying climate change played a significant role. Last month, heavy monsoon rains triggered floods and landslides that killed at least 21 people across the country. Nepal's rugged geography has long made it vulnerable, but scientists warn warming temperatures are increasing risks for Himalayan rivers. Preliminary findings suggest the latest flood was also triggered by an avalanche of rock and ice. "This year there have been back-to-back disasters, and climate change plays a role", said disaster authority chief Dharam Raj Uprety, calling for better mountain monitoring and early warning systems. Pema Gyamtsho of ICIMOD said understanding the trigger will be critical for reducing future risks. For survivor Dil Kumari Thapa Magar, the threat is no longer distant: "We had closely observed the flooding in Rasuwa... Now, we have become victims of the flood ourselves." (BBC)