Rajendra Dawadi evacuates 900 students from Nepal school just 10 minutes before deadly flash floods strike
Rajendra Dawadi, the headteacher of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot, evacuated 900 pupils just 10 minutes before a wall of water struck the area. The school, which has 1,600 pupils, was nearly buried under mud and debris as the flash floods claimed at least 781 lives and left thousands missing.
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Dawadi received four warnings from different people within minutes, including one from a town directly upstream. He decided to act immediately, ordering students to run to higher ground and directing buses to turn around. Dawadi noted that a hostel building 100 meters from the river was engulfed by the water almost instantly. One student, Yunisha Amatya, reported that she and her friends survived by only 10 seconds. She described scrambling up a muddy path and watching the bazaar be swept away. After the flood, many students and teachers remained stranded for two days before rescue efforts reached them. Dawadi stated that better warning systems, such as sirens and evacuation alerts, could have helped residents respond sooner.
Sources
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Head teacher evacuated 900 children minutes before Nepal floods hit school
BBC
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Headteacher saves 900 children from deadly flash flood in Nepal
The Guardian