CNN visits one of the Nepali towns most devastated by the flood

The catastrophic flash flooding that struck a mountainous border area of Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday — when a glacier in the Himalayas collapsed and sent torrents of water into the valleys below — has killed nearly 600 people, with an estimated 2,500 more believed to be missing as search and rescue crews frantically scour for survivors.

Around 9 am on Wednesday, August 26, Nitoo Dangol saw a monstrous surge of water, mud, and debris hurtling down the mountain.

The disaster has left countless people with little or nothing of the lives they had built, struggling with immediate survival and unsure how to rebuild.

Most homes were completely washed away when a tide of mud, rocks and debris flooded down the river valley.