1 day ago
Nepal Principal Evacuates Students Before Flood Destroys School
A school in Nepal received several urgent warnings that a huge flood was coming.
Principal Rajendra Dawadi quickly stopped classes and told everyone to move to higher ground.
More than 900 students were already at school, and other students were still traveling there.
He told buses not to bring more children to the school.
One bus turned around just after crossing a bridge.
Soon afterward, floodwater destroyed bridges and swept away the entire school.
Reports say all 1,643 students survived, although one report focuses on the more than 900 students who were on campus.
Some members of the school community were still missing after the flood.
Dawadi also lost his home but said losing the school hurt him more.
Principal Rajendra Dawadi ordered an evacuation after multiple flood warnings on August 26.
More than 900 students were on campus, while buses carrying additional students were still approaching.
A bus turned around after crossing a new bridge, shortly before floodwaters destroyed an old bridge nearby.
The three-storey school, primary block and compound were swept away by the Trishuli River flood.
Reports say all 1,643 students survived, while accounts differ on which school workers and relatives remained missing.
- Who
- Principal Rajendra Dawadi, students, teachers and school staff at Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School; reports cite 1,643 students overall and more than 900 on campus.
- What
- A last-minute evacuation saved the students before a flood destroyed the school and surrounding compound.
- Where
- Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Bidur, Nuwakot, Nepal, near the Trishuli River and a hydropower canal.
- When
- August 26, beginning shortly after classes started at 6 a.m.; one report says the evacuation began around 9:10 a.m., while Reuters describes roughly 14 minutes before the last bus reached safety.
- Why
- Dawadi acted after receiving several warnings from relatives, teachers and a parent about a large upstream flood.
Key facts
- Principal
- Rajendra Dawadi, 47
- School
- Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School
- Students
- Reports say 1,643 students survived; Reuters says more than 900 were on campus when the warning arrived.
- Evacuation warning
- One report cites four warnings in about three minutes; Reuters says the school had roughly 14 minutes before the last bus reached safety.
- Damage
- The 18-room, three-storey building, primary school building and entire compound were swept away.
- Bridge incident
- A bus turned around after crossing the new bridge, while floodwaters destroyed the old bridge nearby.
- Missing people
- One report names teacher Santosh Pariyar and employee Sultan Lama; Reuters reports at least one school staffer and the accountant’s mother were missing.
- Principal’s loss
- Dawadi’s home was also destroyed.
Quotes
The school accountant
An accountant at Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School who received an early warning from a relative.
“I did not have time to think much. I thought that even if the information was wrong, we would only lose one day of classes. But if it was true, hundreds of lives could be lost.”
thestatesman.com
“I had told everyone to run. I don’t know how they got separated. That thought is eating me up from inside.”
thestatesman.com
Sources
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