10 Minutes Before Flood: “Run to High Ground Right Now”… 900 Students’ Lives Saved by Urgent Response

Pedro Espinola Special Correspondent

mesa.entrada@senatur.gov.py | 2026-09-01 08:23:07


Amidst most buildings being swept away by a flash flood that hit the Nuwakot area of Bagmati Province, Nepal, on the 26th of last month (local time), an image of a single green house that remained uncollapsed is being shared online and gaining attention. YouTube Capture Amidst most buildings being swept away by a flash flood that hit the Nuwakot area of Bagmati Province, Nepal, on the 26th of last month (local time), an image of a single green house that remained uncollapsed is being shared online and gaining attention. YouTube Capture

A story about a secondary school principal who safely evacuated all 900 students 10 minutes before the water rushed in during a massive flash flood in Nepal on the 26th of last month is making headlines, the UK's BBC reported on the 30th of the same month (local time).

Principal Rajendra Dawadi, who leads Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot, Nepal, received several warning calls around 9:10 AM on the day of the flood that a flood was approaching. Later, when a parent came to pick up their daughter in person, he immediately decided to evacuate.

Principal Dawadi conveyed the urgent situation at the time to the BBC, saying, "Parents do not rush for no reason," and "It became clear that we shouldn't waste even a single second in evacuating the children." He made the students run to higher ground. He also turned around the school buses that were heading to the school.

Afterward, as the water rushed in, the school building was buried in mud and debris. The dormitory building, located about 100 meters from the river, was also submerged in an instant. Yunisha Amatya (16), who evacuated according to Principal Dawadi's instructions at the time, said, "My friends and I survived by just 10 seconds," adding, "Everything was swept away right before our eyes." The students and teachers first evacuated to high ground several hundred meters above and then moved to a nearby village. They were isolated for two days because the roads were cut off, and were later rescued.

Principal Dawadi said, "I am proud of the fact that we saved so many lives," and "If we had been just 10 minutes late, the students, myself, and all of us would not be here to talk about this today."

Meanwhile, in Nuwakot, a green building that did not collapse even when strong rapids hit a village on the 26th of last month is also a hot topic. In this house, known through a video by Indian broadcaster NDTV, a family including a man, a woman, and children were watching the rapids rush in from the second-floor terrace. While surrounding buildings collapsed, this house remained intact. The family was also safely rescued, and it is known that this house was built with a reinforced concrete frame, allowing it to withstand the rapids.

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