Head teacher evacuates 900 students minutes before Nepal floods hit school

In a dramatic turn of events, Rajendra Dawadi, the headteacher of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot district, saved more than nine hundred pupils by evacuating them just ten minutes before the deluge struck the campus. The flood, which has claimed at least 794 lives in the wider region, swept the school building and a nearby hostel under mud and debris.

Dawadi received four urgent calls at 09:10 local time from a parent, a teacher, a neighbour and a local official all of whom warned of a massive flood approaching. With the sounds of rising water soon after, he ordered buses to turn around and directed students to higher ground.

Students, initially unaware of the danger, scrambled uphill after the teachers called for evacuation. Young Yunisha recalled, "I, together with my friends, escaped by just 10 seconds before the flood came. We had to climb a narrow ladder from the back of the school while the bazaar in front of us was swept away." The incident highlights how quickly threats can materialise and the importance of decisive action.

After the flood, many teachers and pupils—some stranded for two nights—were eventually airlifted back to their homes across the river. Parents, like Yunisha’s father Yubaraj, had to wait for hours to confirm their children's safety, often feeling helpless without a reliable way to contact them.

Dawadi emphasized that better warning systems, including sirens and evacuation alerts, could mitigate future losses. "Had I delayed a few minutes, many lives might have been lost," he reflected. He believes his swift decision averted a potential catastrophe, sparking discussions on disaster preparedness for rural schools.