Nepal Floods: How One Teacher’s Split-Second Decision Saved 1,643 Children

During one of Nepal’s most devastating flood disasters, a headmaster’s swift decision saved 1,643 children at Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School. On August 26, Headmaster Rajendra Dawadi prepared for an ordinary school day with 1,643 students and staff members. Suddenly, a warning of an approaching flood in the Trishuli Valley reached him.

With only minutes to respond, Dawadi evacuated the school immediately, sounding the bell and directing students to safety via buses, motorcycles, and foot. School buses were redirected away from the danger zone, and the evacuation process was carried out urgently. The flood arrived so quickly that the school building was swept away, but the children had already been moved to safety.

Dawadi explained that a parent’s urgent request to collect their child convinced him that the warning could not be ignored. Despite the school’s destruction, all the children were saved. The cost was high, with one school staff member killed and the school itself destroyed. However, the evacuation succeeded, becoming an international example of decisive leadership during a disaster.

While the wider disaster claimed lives and destroyed homes and infrastructure, affecting nearly 19,000 children, Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School’s story stands out. The building could not be saved, but its children were. Headmaster Dawadi’s actions demonstrated that sometimes, the most consequential act of leadership is knowing when to sound the alarm.