How one teacher saved 900 students from Nepal floods

In a Nepali school headteacher's swift decision to evacuate 900 students, a potential tragedy was averted as devastating flash floods continued to ravage parts of Nepal and Tibet. Rajendra Dawadi, headteacher of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nepal's Nuwakot district, initiated the evacuation after receiving at least four warnings within a short span. Dawadi relayed the decision came after being informed that floodwaters had already swept through the upstream village of Betrawati, BBC reported.

Dawadi further corroborated the decision by noting that he had observed floodwaters engulf a hostel building, located approximately 100 meters away from the river. The catastrophic flash flood, triggered by a glacier collapse, has left Nepal with nearly 800 deaths, and thousands still missing. The Trishuli Hydropower station also sustained severe damage due to the flash floods that struck the region.

The headteacher explained to the BBC that his decision to evacuate was swift and straightforward, given that the school accommodates over 1,600 students. Dawadi declared, "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 recounted that should the evacuation have been delayed by 10 minutes, they would not have been able to communicate with the reporter today.

One of the 900 students rescued by Dawadi was 16-year-old Yunisha, who shared her account of narrowly escaping the floodwaters. Yunisha recounted, "I, along with my friends, survived by just 10 seconds. Within no time, the bazaar was swept away in front of my eyes." The Nepal flash flood disaster has claimed at least 781 lives to date, with more than 2,500 people still missing, as rescue operations continue across affected areas.

According to the Red Cross estimate, approximately 90,000 individuals were likely impacted by the calamity.