As devastating floods wreak havoc across Nepal, one principal is being celebrated for a split-second decision that reportedly saved roughly 900 schoolchildren from disaster.
The deadly flooding began Wednesday morning along the Nepal-Tibet border, where a glacial collapse unleashed a powerful surge of water and debris downstream, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
By Sunday, Nepal had reported 781 deaths, while 2,502 people—including 592 foreign nationals—remained out of contact. More than 3,700 people had been rescued as emergency crews continued searching for survivors.
At Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot, Rajendra Dawadi soon found himself facing the approaching danger. While teaching class, the headteacher received four warnings from different people within minutes, including one from Betrawati, a town directly upstream from the school. Tribhuvan Trishuli has 1,600 students enrolled.
Dawadi told the BBC why he decided to act immediately:
“I decided I shouldn’t delay any more. Even if the flood was not coming, it was just a matter of a single day’s classes.”
As the school was being evacuated, the threat quickly became frighteningly real. Dawadi watched as floodwaters engulfed a hostel building roughly 100 meters from the river. After reaching a hillside, he then witnessed the flood sweep away the school he had once attended as a student, according to the Associated Press.
Two teachers who were unable to reach safety remain unaccounted for.
Dawadi reflected on just how critical his decision to evacuate the school was:
“If we had made the decision 10 minutes later, all of us, including the students and me, would not be able to speak to you today.”
Dawadi’s quick thinking extended beyond the evacuation. According to the Associated Press, he contacted school bus drivers and warned them not to come to the campus. He later told The Times that some students were so traumatized they fainted, prompting teachers to transport them to safety on their motorbikes.
One student credited Dawadi’s quick decision with saving their lives with only moments to spare. The children scrambled up a muddy path to safety as water and debris tore through the town below.
Yunisha Amatya, 16, recalled watching the destruction unfold before her eyes:
“If there was no grip in my shoes, I would have fallen. And students and other people were jostling each other to reach the safer area while escaping. The people who chose to escape from another route are apparently swept away.”
Yunisha was reunited with her family three days later.
Across Nepal, thousands of children continue to feel the impact. Save the Children reports at least 69 schools have been damaged or destroyed, affecting nearly 19,000 children.
Nepal’s foreign minister has since called for a global response to the climate crisis, arguing that Nepali communities bear a disproportionate burden despite contributing only a fraction of global fossil fuel emissions.
Amid the widespread loss, Dawadi’s quick thinking has become a story of heroism. Across social media, people praised the headteacher for putting his students first when every minute mattered.
See what people had to say below:
At least 85 Americans remain missing, according to the U.S. State Department. The Washington Post reported that nine had been evacuated as of Sunday, August 30, with no U.S. deaths confirmed.
State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott outlined the U.S. emergency aid response:
"We have activated from the State Department $3.6 million in emergency humanitarian assistance that includes up to three months of emergency food for up to 10,000 flood-affected households."
Pigott said the funding will also support road rebuilding and transit authorities.
Even as rescue and recovery efforts continue, the conditions fueling disasters across the Himalayas remain a growing concern.
Himalayan glaciers are warming much faster than the global average and have shrunk significantly over the past decade, contributing to thawing permafrost and unstable mountain bedrock. Weakened ice and rock faces can break away and crash into valleys, triggering tsunami-like flows of water and debris.
For Dawadi and his students, the scale of that threat became frighteningly real. With only minutes to act, his decision to evacuate gave hundreds of children the chance to escape before their school was swept away and make it home alive.
@thekalenallen/Threads
U.S. Mint
