A Nepali school headteacher’s decision to evacuate 900 students after receiving multiple warnings about rising floodwaters may have prevented a major tragedy, as catastrophic flash floods continued to devastate parts of Nepal and Tibet.

Rajendra Dawadi, headteacher of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, ordered the evacuation after receiving at least four warnings within several minutes, the London-based media organisation BBC reported.

Dawadi said the decision was taken after he was told that floodwaters had already swept through the upstream settlement of Betrawati. He later saw floodwaters engulf a hostel building about 100 metres from the river.

A catastrophic flash flood triggered by a glacier collapse has ravaged Nepal with nearly 800 deaths and thousands still missing.

How did the Nepal headteacher save 900 students?

The warnings received by the headteacher included reports that floodwater had already swept through the upstream settlement of Betrawati. The decision was straightforward for the teacher, who teaches in a school with just over 1,600 students. Dawadi said that’s when he decided to evacuate the school. “I decided I shouldn’t delay any more. Even if the flood was not coming, it was just a matter of a single day’s classes,” he told the BBC .

The students were safely evacuated to higher ground, and headteacher Dawadi said he witnessed a hostel building, located around 100 metres from the river, being engulfed by the floodwaters. “If we had made the decision 10 minutes later, all of us, including the students and me, would not be able to speak to you today,” he told the BBC reporter.

Nepal student recalls escaping floodwaters

One of the 900 students saved by the headteacher was 16-year-old Yunisha, who said she narrowly escaped the floodwaters moments before the tragedy struck.

“I, along with my friends, survived by just 10 seconds. Within no time, the bazaar was swept away in front of my eyes,” Yunisha said.


Nepal flood death toll crosses 780; thousands still missing
The Nepal flash flood tragedy has claimed at least 781 lives till now, and more than 2,500 remain missing in the country, with rescue operations continuing across affected areas. According to an estimate by the Red Cross, more than 90,000 people are likely to have been affected by the disaster, Reuters reported.