Nepal Flash Floods: Teacher’s Quick Decision Saves 1,643 Children as Floods Destroys School

Nepali school principal Rajendra Dawadi evacuated 1,643 children to safety within minutes after receiving a warning that deadly floodwaters were rushing towards their school.

Warning Came Just in Time

The warning reached Dawadi, principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot’s Trishuli Valley, at around 9.20 am on Wednesday.

A friend told him that a nearby village had been swept away by the river and urged him to run. At the time, 1,643 children were in and around the school building.

Dawadi, a 47-year-old English teacher, initially believed the three-storey concrete school was safe. The building stood about 60 metres above the river, but a parent soon arrived with a more alarming update: the water level was rising rapidly.

School Bell Became the Signal to Escape

Dawadi immediately rang the school bell and ordered teachers to evacuate the classrooms.

He also contacted the school bus drivers, asking them to turn back. All but one managed to do so. Dawadi then saw the remaining bus crossing the bridge as the danger intensified.

The children began fleeing on foot towards higher ground. One girl suffered a panic attack and was taken uphill on a motorbike, while Dawadi followed the other students.

The children eventually found shelter beneath a bodhi tree as floodwaters swept through and destroyed the school buildings.

1,643 Children Survived

Dawadi’s decision saved all 1,643 children and almost the entire teaching staff.

Two school employees, however, died. Social history teacher Santos Pariyar, 32, was swept away after returning to his rented room near the river to prepare breakfast. School janitor Sultan Lama was also killed after going back to close the doors.

Locals have hailed Dawadi as a hero, but he has played down his role.

“What else could I do?” he said while looking over the muddy remains of the school.

Glacier Collapse Triggered Devastating Flood

The flash flood was triggered after a huge mass of ice and rock broke away from Langtang Lirung peak and plunged around 1,200 metres into the steep upper gorge of the Lhende Khola river near the Tibet border.

Geomorphologist Daniel Shugar of the University of Calgary estimated that the mass covered nearly 50 acres, roughly the size of Green Park in London.

The resulting torrents of rock, ice, mud and debris tore through mountain river systems, destroying buildings, bridges and power stations.

Death Toll Mounts Across Nepal

The disaster has devastated several parts of Nepal, with Nuwakot among the worst-affected areas. The latest figures cited by India Today put Nepal’s death toll at 734, while 2,498 people remain missing. Another 16 people have died in Tibet, with 546 still missing in Gyirong County.

Rescue teams continue to face difficult conditions, with mud, debris, damaged roads and bridges hampering access to affected areas.

For the children of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, however, the outcome was different. A single warning, followed by a principal’s decision to act without delay, gave 1,643 students a chance to escape before the flood swallowed their school.