Nine‑hundred students, teachers, and staff were saved from a sudden flood in Nuwakot district, Nepal, thanks to one headteacher’s rapid decision to evacuate. Rajendra Dawadi, principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, reports that he received four emergency phone calls at 09:10 local time (03:25 GMT) warning of an impending disaster.

According to Dawadi, a parent calling by phone cited a “big flood” approaching the school, and other contacts confirmed the danger. He weighed the options quickly – dwelling with the students for the day would risk missing the flood. He ordered all children to move to higher ground and instructed school buses to return to a safer area, saying, "If we didn't act now, we would lose everything."

The flood waters surged within minutes, engulfing a hostel building 100 metres from the river and a nearby bazaar. The school building was buried in mud and debris, leaving the campus largely destroyed.

Student escape

Many pupils initially did not grasp the seriousness of the situation. One 16‑year‑old pupil, Yunisha Amatya, recounts she and her friends scrambling uphill just ten seconds before the waters arrived. She describes the frantic escape: "That was the last class we had worked on – then the flood hit; we ran to the safer zone, using a narrow ladder behind the school, and the market was swept away before I could even see it."

Her distress was compounded when her mother could not reach her friend via phone; her father, Yubaraj Amatya, drove toward the school, calling trying to reach Yunisha. After an hour, Yunisha answered, and both parents, grateful, were reunited after days of uncertainty.

Dawadi noted that road connections were cut and many remained stuck for two nights until rescue teams arrived, with the principal and Yunisha eventually airlifted back to their home village. Meanwhile families tried to contact missing relatives.

Reflecting on the events, Dawadi says that better warning systems such as sirens and public alerts could help in the future. However, he believes his immediate action prevented a catastrophe. "If I had postponed the evacuation, we would have lost many lives," he says.

The incidents underscore the urgent need for improved emergency preparedness in flood‑prone regions of Nepal. The floods, which struck on Wednesday, have left at least 2,426 people missing across the country.