{
    "archive_path": "archive/1788257191.028827",
    "base_url": "thediplomat.com/2026/09/the-unique-communications-that-saved-lives-before-nepals-devastating-flood",
    "basename": "",
    "bookmarked_date": "2026-09-01 10:06",
    "canonical": {
        "archive_org_path": "https://web.archive.org/web/thediplomat.com/2026/09/the-unique-communications-that-saved-lives-before-nepals-devastating-flood",
        "dom_path": "output.html",
        "favicon_path": "favicon.ico",
        "git_path": "git/",
        "google_favicon_path": "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=thediplomat.com",
        "headers_path": "headers.json",
        "htmltotext_path": "htmltotext.txt",
        "index_path": "index.html",
        "media_path": "media/",
        "mercury_path": "mercury/content.html",
        "pdf_path": "output.pdf",
        "readability_path": "readability/content.html",
        "screenshot_path": "screenshot.png",
        "singlefile_path": "singlefile.html",
        "warc_path": "warc/",
        "wget_path": "thediplomat.com/2026/09/the-unique-communications-that-saved-lives-before-nepals-devastating-flood/index.html"
    },
    "domain": "thediplomat.com",
    "extension": "",
    "hash": "148M885K27QEW6D98FFK",
    "history": {
        "archive_org": [],
        "dom": [],
        "favicon": [
            {
                "cmd": [
                    "curl",
                    "--silent",
                    "--location",
                    "--compressed",
                    "--max-time",
                    "120",
                    "--output",
                    "favicon.ico",
                    "--user-agent",
                    "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)",
                    "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=thediplomat.com"
                ],
                "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)",
                "end_ts": "2026-09-01T13:26:18.220830+00:00",
                "index_texts": null,
                "output": "favicon.ico",
                "pwd": "/data/archive/1788257191.028827",
                "schema": "ArchiveResult",
                "start_ts": "2026-09-01T13:26:17.777198+00:00",
                "status": "succeeded"
            }
        ],
        "git": [],
        "headers": [
            {
                "cmd": [
                    "curl",
                    "--silent",
                    "--location",
                    "--compressed",
                    "--head",
                    "--max-time",
                    "120",
                    "--user-agent",
                    "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)",
                    "https://thediplomat.com/2026/09/the-unique-communications-that-saved-lives-before-nepals-devastating-flood/"
                ],
                "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)",
                "end_ts": "2026-09-01T13:26:18.620956+00:00",
                "index_texts": null,
                "output": "headers.json",
                "pwd": "/data/archive/1788257191.028827",
                "schema": "ArchiveResult",
                "start_ts": "2026-09-01T13:26:18.230621+00:00",
                "status": "succeeded"
            }
        ],
        "htmltotext": [],
        "media": [],
        "mercury": [
            {
                "cmd": [
                    "/app/node_modules/@postlight/parser/cli.js",
                    "https://thediplomat.com/2026/09/the-unique-communications-that-saved-lives-before-nepals-devastating-flood/"
                ],
                "cmd_version": "1.0.0",
                "end_ts": "2026-09-01T13:26:35.209521+00:00",
                "index_texts": null,
                "output": "mercury",
                "pwd": "/data/archive/1788257191.028827",
                "schema": "ArchiveResult",
                "start_ts": "2026-09-01T13:26:31.336253+00:00",
                "status": "succeeded"
            }
        ],
        "pdf": [],
        "readability": [
            {
                "cmd": [
                    "/app/node_modules/readability-extractor/readability-extractor",
                    "/tmp/tmpgwpms9nq",
                    "https://thediplomat.com/2026/09/the-unique-communications-that-saved-lives-before-nepals-devastating-flood/"
                ],
                "cmd_version": "0.0.11",
                "end_ts": "2026-09-01T13:26:31.322546+00:00",
                "index_texts": [
                    "Families and experts in Nepal have told of the devastating flood that killed over 900 and the little-known cultural phenomenon that may have saved even more lives from being lost.\nAccording to those on the ground, while the waters surged through villages and left over 4,200 missing around the border between Nepal and China, some families had advanced warning of the imminent disaster.\n\u201cIn Nepal, people-to-people information sharing is quite good and also a unique phenomenon,\u201d Dr Basanta Raj Adhikari, the director of the Centre for Disaster Studies at the Institute of Engineering at Tribhuvan University in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, told The Diplomat.\nAccording to Adhikari, in times of an environmental disaster such as an earthquake, landslide, or flood such as the one witnessed on August 26, news travels fast, with villages higher up in the mountains quickly passing information to those in the lower lands, and warning residents that danger is on the way.\n\u201cPeople upstream give information to those lower down so that they can save themselves,\u201d Basanta said.\nThis informal method of sounding the alarm appears to have worked for some families along the Trishuli River where the flood waters arose. These included Rita Tamang, who lives in Daring, Gajuri, along the Prithvi Highway which sits beside the waterway.\n\u201cBefore the flood came, we had moved a little higher up from our house, but we still witnessed the flood very clearly. It was absolutely terrifying. The flood was not just carrying a huge amount of water; it was also sweeping away all kinds of things, causing massive destruction. Our house was also badly damaged, with almost half of it destroyed,\u201d the 34-year-old housewife told The Diplomat.\n\u201cWe knew about the flood coming from Rasuwagadhi about two to four hours beforehand. But we had never seen a flood this severe and terrifying before. In fact, we had never witnessed anything like this in our lives.\u201d\nTamang said that the flood completely washed away three concrete bridges that vehicles used to cross the river, and destroyed a key suspension bridge in the area.\nIt was Tamang\u2019s brother, 32-year-old Bikram Tamang, who helped to save her life.\nBikram Tamang said that he had been at the China-Nepal border working as a truck driver and transporting goods from the border to Kathmandu, Birgunj, Pokhara, and other cities in Nepal.\nAfter delivering the goods, drivers usually return with empty trucks, Tamang said, and Bikram had just dropped off a delivery when he got news of a torrent of water approaching.\nRita Tamang\u2019s brother Bikram Tamang, 32, who warned her of the approaching flood but remains missing. (Photo courtesy Rita Tamang)\n\u201cHis friends informed him that a dam had apparently burst and that a massive flood had come. They told everyone to stay safe and not to go near the riverbank,\u201d she said. \u201cFrom there, my brother directly called us at home, and that is how we came to know about the flood.\u201d\nIt is thought that the Nepal flood wave was caused by a glacial collapse after a large chunk of ice from a glacier broke off and fell into a river. This ice then melted, mixing with river water and debris, before gushing through mountain gulleys and destroying villages, towns, bridges, roads, and homes.\nAs a result of the advanced warning from her younger sibling, Tamang and her family were able to scramble to higher ground.\nBoth Basanta and Tamang said that, in times of disaster, word-of-mouth was often faster than official warnings, although Tamang explained that both Ncell and Namaste, two major telecommunications networks in Nepal, had managed to send alerts to their subscribers that a major flood had occurred.\nThe alerts also advised residents to evacuate areas along the Trishuli River.\nHowever, both Basanta and Tamang said that time was of the essence when a disaster occurred as both internet and phone signals were disrupted once power lines were destroyed.\nBasanta added that the risk of secondary flooding from lakes swelling upstream and bursting was an ongoing threat, and that it would be a consideration for search and rescue teams looking for survivors and the deceased. However, the information and people-to-people sharing that was used when the first flood happened would likely be harnessed again by those working in the area.\n\u201cThe Nepal government is aware of the risks and is working closely to get information from those upstream to those lower down,\u201d Dr Basanta said.\nHe explained that there would be a similar chain of information sharing by the local authorities, using other devices such as satellite phones or walkie-talkies, that would allow those working on higher ground to warn if more floods were coming, in the event that normal phone lines and internet were still disrupted.\nFollowing the first wave, the fear that more floods would follow came to fruition for Tamang, who said that many families were choosing to sleep outside their homes in case rising waters caused buildings to wash away completely.\n\u201cOn Sunday, the flood came again at around five in the morning and, on Saturday, a very large flood came from the stream near our village which forced many families to leave their homes,\u201d she said.\nShe added that they were safe for now but that, with every new wave of water, the family had to move to higher ground and wait for it to subside before returning to their partially damaged home.\n\u201cPeople are in a very difficult situation. Most of their belongings are outside and they have nowhere safe to stay. There are children, elderly people, parents, and people with disabilities among them.\u201d\nAnd while Tamang\u2019s brother Bikram was initially able to make contact and urge his family to seek shelter, communication has now completely ceased, even though internet and phone connections have been restored in her area.\n\u201cAs far as we know, he was in contact with his family until he had loaded his vehicle inside the Chinese border area and was about to leave. There has been no information about his whereabouts or condition,\u201d Tamang said.\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know whether he is alive, safe, or what has happened to him. We have tried repeatedly to contact him, but his mobile phone is completely unreachable.\u201d"
                ],
                "output": "readability",
                "pwd": "/data/archive/1788257191.028827",
                "schema": "ArchiveResult",
                "start_ts": "2026-09-01T13:26:29.538759+00:00",
                "status": "succeeded"
            }
        ],
        "screenshot": [],
        "singlefile": [],
        "title": [
            {
                "cmd": [
                    "curl",
                    "--silent",
                    "--location",
                    "--compressed",
                    "--max-time",
                    "120",
                    "--user-agent",
                    "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)",
                    "https://thediplomat.com/2026/09/the-unique-communications-that-saved-lives-before-nepals-devastating-flood/"
                ],
                "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)",
                "end_ts": "2026-09-01T13:26:29.530603+00:00",
                "index_texts": null,
                "output": "The \u2018Unique\u2019 Communications That Saved Lives Before Nepal\u2019s Devastating Flood \u2013 The Diplomat",
                "pwd": "/data/archive/1788257191.028827",
                "schema": "ArchiveResult",
                "start_ts": "2026-09-01T13:26:29.494138+00:00",
                "status": "succeeded"
            }
        ],
        "wget": [
            {
                "cmd": [
                    "wget",
                    "--no-verbose",
                    "--adjust-extension",
                    "--convert-links",
                    "--force-directories",
                    "--backup-converted",
                    "--span-hosts",
                    "--no-parent",
                    "-e",
                    "robots=off",
                    "--timeout=120",
                    "--restrict-file-names=windows",
                    "--warc-file=/data/archive/1788257191.028827/warc/1788269178",
                    "--page-requisites",
                    "--user-agent=Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) wget/GNU Wget 1.21.3",
                    "--compression=auto",
                    "https://thediplomat.com/2026/09/the-unique-communications-that-saved-lives-before-nepals-devastating-flood/"
                ],
                "cmd_version": "GNU Wget 1.21.3",
                "end_ts": "2026-09-01T13:26:29.482789+00:00",
                "index_texts": null,
                "output": "thediplomat.com/2026/09/the-unique-communications-that-saved-lives-before-nepals-devastating-flood/index.html",
                "pwd": "/data/archive/1788257191.028827",
                "schema": "ArchiveResult",
                "start_ts": "2026-09-01T13:26:18.632223+00:00",
                "status": "succeeded"
            }
        ]
    },
    "icons": null,
    "is_archived": true,
    "is_static": false,
    "latest": {
        "archive_org": null,
        "dom": null,
        "favicon": "favicon.ico",
        "git": null,
        "media": null,
        "pdf": null,
        "screenshot": null,
        "singlefile": null,
        "title": "The \u2018Unique\u2019 Communications That Saved Lives Before Nepal\u2019s Devastating Flood \u2013 The Diplomat",
        "warc": null,
        "wget": "thediplomat.com/2026/09/the-unique-communications-that-saved-lives-before-nepals-devastating-flood/index.html"
    },
    "link_dir": "/data/archive/1788257191.028827",
    "newest_archive_date": "2026-09-01T13:26:31.336253+00:00",
    "num_failures": 0,
    "num_outputs": 6,
    "oldest_archive_date": "2026-09-01T13:26:17.777198+00:00",
    "path": "/2026/09/the-unique-communications-that-saved-lives-before-nepals-devastating-flood/",
    "schema": "Link",
    "scheme": "https",
    "snapshot_id": "7c277b0b-63db-4421-9cad-ad4c4f4a0927",
    "sources": [
        "/data/sources/1788257191-import.txt"
    ],
    "tags": ",escalation,war-wiki,pool",
    "tags_str": "escalation,war-wiki,pool",
    "timestamp": "1788257191.028827",
    "title": "The \u2018Unique\u2019 Communications That Saved Lives Before Nepal\u2019s Devastating Flood \u2013 The Diplomat",
    "updated": "2026-09-01T13:26:17.776848+00:00",
    "updated_date": "2026-09-01 13:26",
    "url": "https://thediplomat.com/2026/09/the-unique-communications-that-saved-lives-before-nepals-devastating-flood/"
}