A school headmaster in Nepal saved the lives of 900 students from a devastating mountain flash flood. His name is Rajendra Dawadi. Just 10 minutes before the floodwaters struck the school, he made a swift decision and evacuated the students.
Rajendra, headmaster of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot district, told the BBC that around 9:10 a.m. local time last Wednesday, he received four phone calls. The calls warned him about the devastating disaster. He immediately ordered students to move to higher ground, and told buses full of students heading to school to turn back quickly.
Rajendra said: “If we hadn’t made a quick decision, or if we had been even 10 minutes late, neither I nor any of the students would have been able to speak with you today.”
Rajendra said that four separate people calling within minutes of each other to warn him made it easier for him to grasp the severity of the situation.
On this, Rajendra said one parent came and told him: “A big flood is coming. I’ve come to take my daughter.”
Rajendra noted that parents don’t rush to school like that without a serious reason. He said that’s how he understood he shouldn’t waste a single second in evacuating the students.
Rajendra said: “I decided not to delay any further. Even if the flood hadn’t come, at most one day of classes would have been lost. I’m proud that I was able to save so many lives.”
Wednesday’s devastating mountain flash flood caused extensive damage to several areas of Nepal. At least 903 deaths have been recorded in Nepal so far. Some 4,247 people are missing. Rescue efforts continue amid adverse conditions.
The building of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School has been buried under mud and debris. Rajendra said a school dormitory, located roughly 100 meters from the river, was also submerged by floodwater within moments.
At first, many students didn’t grasp the severity of the situation either. Sixteen-year-old student Yunisha Amatya said she ran with her friends to safety just before the flood struck.
Yunisha said: “My friends and I survived by just 10 seconds.”
Yunisha further said that right before the flood came, they were in class. The teachers had gathered in one spot. At first, they didn’t understand what was happening. Five minutes later, the teachers came and told them about the flood, telling them to head home quickly.
Yunisha said one student fainted upon hearing about the flood. She said many students still didn’t grasp the scale of the danger at that point. They were waiting for classmates who were in math class. Yunisha and her friends then quickly climbed toward the mountain along a path behind the school.
Settlements along the riverbank were the hardest hit by the surging water, with entire villages swept away in many places.
Yunisha said: “I couldn’t walk fast. My friends helped me climb toward the mountain. We were trying to reach safety quickly. We got out through a narrow staircase behind the school. Right before our eyes, the local market was swept away by the water in an instant.”
Students and teachers first climbed a few hundred meters up the mountain to take shelter in a safe spot. They later moved to a nearby village. With road communication cut off by the flood, many of them were stranded there for two nights before rescue teams reached them.
Both headmaster Rajendra and student Yunisha live across the river from the school. In the end, they were flown home by helicopter.
Meanwhile, parents were also anxious to learn whether their children were alive. Yunisha’s mother, Sabina Kumari Shrestha, said she repeatedly tried to reach her daughter and husband by phone but couldn’t get through to either of them.
Yunisha’s father, Yuvraj Amatya, set out for his daughter’s school as soon as he heard the news. He said: “As soon as news of the flood spread, I called my daughter’s phone. But I couldn’t reach her. I became terrified. Within minutes, I rushed toward my daughter’s school. When I got there, I saw the Trishuli market completely swept away. I thought my daughter might not be alive anymore. I was extremely panicked. I stopped my scooter. There was water all around, but I couldn’t bear the thought of going back without my daughter.”
For nearly an hour, Yuvraj didn’t know whether his daughter was alive. He called again and again but got no answer from her. Finally, the call connected. Yunisha picked up on the other end.
Yuvraj said: “My daughter finally answered. I couldn’t hold myself together, I broke down crying. Two relatives who were with me also hugged me, crying.”
Headmaster Rajendra said that with a more effective warning system, area residents could have responded even sooner. Still, he believes his quick decision and action helped avert a major disaster.