A headteacher’s split-second decision to evacuate his school has been credited with saving the lives of more than 1,600 students amid the devastating flash floods that hit Nepal on August 26, 2026, according to multiple reports.
Rajendra Dawadi, headteacher of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, received a series of urgent warnings at around 9:10 a.m., including a phone call from a friend several miles upstream. The caller reported that a nearby village had been completely swept away by a rapidly rising river.
Faced with little time to assess the threat, Dawadi ordered an immediate halt to the morning classes and instructed staff to evacuate the school.
“If there’s no flood, we lose a day of studies. But if there is a flood, we all lose our lives,” Dawadi said.
More than 900 pupils inside the school building rushed uphill toward a neighbouring village as teachers and staff helped coordinate the evacuation.
Dawadi also learned that school buses carrying an additional 700 students were approaching the area. He tracked down the buses and ordered their drivers to turn around. The final bus managed to cross a local bridge and reverse course only moments before floodwaters struck. The bridge subsequently collapsed under the force of the water.
At approximately 9:20 a.m., just 10 minutes after the initial warning, a massive surge of water and debris swept through the area, completely destroying the school building.
The evacuation is estimated to have saved the lives of 1,643 students and almost all members of staff. The flash flood was part of a wider disaster affecting areas along the Nepal-Tibet border, where powerful floods and landslides have caused widespread destruction and loss of life. The disaster has reportedly killed hundreds of people and left thousands missing.
