Saved by a lunch break: Nepal floods destroyed many schools, but students at this school survived

On August 30, 2026, in the Dhading district of Nepal, a group of schoolchildren were saved from the catastrophic floods that ravaged the area. The children were spared because they took a lunch break just as the floodwaters surged into their classrooms. Lakshmi Shrestha, a mother of a student, recounted how teachers instructed the children to leave their bags and snacks, enabling them to escape the rising waters.

Families returned to the school on Sunday to salvage belongings, finding that most of the kids had survived the disaster. The school was inundated with brown and gray mud, with water levels reaching dangerously high marks on the walls. Amidst the debris, small backpacks and colorful key chains lay scattered, awaiting their owners.

Kopila Mizar, another mother, expressed her relief that her son was alive, even if she hadn't recovered his backpack yet. According to Save the Children, at least 69 schools in the affected districts were destroyed or damaged, putting the education of nearly 19,000 children at risk. The government had previously ordered schools and universities to close for three days in response to the torrential rains that triggered flash floods and landslides across the country, leading to the suspension of university exams.