A Nepali school principal saved at least 900 students by ordering an immediate evacuation moments before a flash flood destroyed their school [1].
The incident highlights the extreme vulnerability of mountain communities to glacial lake outburst floods, which can trigger sudden, catastrophic surges of debris with little warning.
Rajendra Dawadi, the 47-year-old principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, rang the school bell to alert students and staff last week [1]. He ordered the classrooms to be cleared immediately and stopped school buses from entering the danger zone [3]. The evacuation occurred just as a surge of water, ice, rock, and mud—triggered by a glacial collapse—hit the Trishuli Valley [1], [2].
Reports on the exact number of children saved vary. While some sources state that Dawadi saved 1,600 [2] or 1,643 children [4], other reports indicate that while the school has a total enrollment of 1,643, only about 900 students were present that morning [2].
One student described the narrow margin of survival. "I, along with my friends, survived by just 10 seconds," the student said [2].
The disaster had a devastating impact across the region. More than 900 people have died across Nepal and China [3]. Additionally, more than 4,700 people remain missing [3].
Dawadi, an English teacher by profession, acted on a quick decision to clear the campus before the water swept the school building away [1], [3]. The rapid response prevented a mass casualty event at the institution, though the surrounding valley suffered extensive loss of life and infrastructure.
“"I, along with my friends, survived by just 10 seconds,"”
This event underscores the increasing risk of glacial-triggered floods in the Himalayas as rising temperatures lead to unstable glacial lakes. The survival of the students at Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School demonstrates that local leadership and rapid evacuation protocols can mitigate the death toll of natural disasters, even when early warning systems are absent.
