Fourteen minutes before the flood, a warning sent 900 students running to safety
Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
At a glance
In-depth
Named sources
Outcome reported
- A warning relayed from flood-hit Rasuwa gave Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Bidur 14 minutes to evacuate about 900 students and 16 faculty members.
- The school was destroyed by the flood, but the evacuation moved students and staff to safety before nearby bridges and the town were hit.
- The accountant who delivered the warning later returned home to rescue his parents, saving his father but losing his mother when their house was washed away.
The warning arrived as a shout: “The flood is coming, the flood is coming!” Fourteen minutes later, a wall of mud and water had torn through Bidur, destroying Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School and leaving its former site in the riverbed.
Headmaster Rajendra Dawadi said the school’s accountant received a call from a relative in Rasuwa, where the flood struck first. Teachers began receiving panicked calls as Dawadi ordered classes stopped and the bell rung. Buses carrying more students were redirected, while parents and teachers rushed children away by motorbike, bus and on foot.
The flood is coming, the flood is coming!
About 900 of the school’s roughly 1,600 students were on campus. At least one student fainted as the evacuation descended into chaos. The last bus crossed a nearby bridge about 14 minutes after the warning. “As our bus crossed the new bridge, the old bridge collapsed,” Dawadi said.
We immediately said: Stop the class, ring the bell.
The school had been rebuilt after Nepal’s 2015 earthquake and stood between the Trishuli River and a hydropower canal. Dawadi, who once attended the school himself, now wants authorities to rebuild it in a safer location.
Parents credited him with saving their children. “He was like a God. He gave life to my daughter and to many other children. Only God can do this,” said Man Maya Tamang, whose daughter Sushmita was initially believed missing.
As our bus crossed the new bridge, the old bridge collapsed.
The warning could not protect everyone. Dawadi said at least one school staff member and the accountant’s mother remain missing. After alerting the school, the accountant returned to his parents’ home and managed to take his father uphill. When he went back for his mother, the house had already been swept away.
He was like a God. He gave life to my daughter and to many other children. Only God can do this.
About this summary
Originally published by Kathmandu Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
More Stories
From Our Blog
What Gets Lost (and Found) When News Is Translated
The Critical Role of Diaspora Media in Global News
What Travellers Should Know About Countries with Restricted Press
A Digital Nomad's Guide to Following Local News
How the Same Story Looks Different in Different Countries
