"If He Had Been 10 Minutes Later"... A Principal Saved 900 Students and Staff Just Before Nepal's Massive Flood Hit

[Financial News] A Nepalese principal who saved more than 900 students and staff with a swift decision just 10 minutes before a massive flood hit a school in the Himalayan region on the Nepal-China border has only now come to light.
Yonhap News Agency reported on the 31st, citing the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), that Rajendra Dawadi, principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot, Nepal, evacuated students and staff on the 26th, when the devastating flood occurred.
Around 9:10 a.m. that day, Dawadi received four warning calls that floodwaters were on the way. When a parent came to the school in person to pick up a child, he realized how serious the situation was and immediately ordered an evacuation.
He instructed everyone on campus to run to higher ground at once. He also contacted a school bus carrying students on the way to school and told it to turn around and head away from the school.
The water rose faster than anyone could imagine. A dormitory building about 100 meters from the river was submerged in no time, and most of the school buildings were buried in mud and debris.
Student Yunisha Amatia said, "I escaped through a narrow ladder at the back of the school, and in the blink of an eye, the market around the school was swept away by the current." She added, "It seems that people who tried to escape by a different route were eventually carried away by the water."
Principal Dawadi said he was relieved that if the evacuation had been delayed by just 10 minutes, serious harm could have come to everyone at the school, including himself.
The high ground where the students and staff took shelter was cut off from the outside world, leaving them isolated for two nights until rescue teams arrived. They were later transported by helicopter to a nearby village.
Meanwhile, Nepal's disaster management authority said on the 31st that the death toll from flooding in the country had risen to at least 939. The number of missing people was tallied at 3,925, including 592 foreigners, down by more than 320 from the previous announcement. However, the specific reason for the downward revision was not disclosed, including whether some of the missing had been confirmed dead.
Prime Minister of Nepal Balendra Shah said on Facebook, "Our country is facing a heartbreaking natural disaster beyond imagination," adding, "It is extremely difficult to fully assess the damage to lives, property and infrastructure." He continued, "This mission is difficult because of severe weather, rugged terrain and ongoing risks, but we will move forward with the determination to protect the lives of our citizens."
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter