Nepali teacher saves about 1,600 students just before flood inundates school
Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- Head teacher Rajendra Dawadi evacuated about 1,600 students shortly before flooding inundated Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot.
- Children at another school survived after teachers ordered them to leave classrooms before the water arrived, while some students later returned to recover belongings from the mud.
- Families described the survival of their children as their greatest relief despite the destruction of school buildings and possessions.
Rajendra Dawadi had only minutes to decide whether to evacuate his school. The head teacher at Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nepal’s Nuwakot district acted after receiving calls warning that a major flood was approaching.
The floods swept away the entire building.
About 1,600 students left the school before the water arrived. A local resident, Surinder, said the flood later swept away the entire building, which had stood near a temple and a market.
Dawadi said a parent arrived to collect his daughter and warned him about the flood. He took the warning seriously and decided not to wait, even if evacuation meant losing only a day of classes. “I feel proud that we saved so many lives,” he said.
If we didn't make a quick decision, if it was 10 minutes later, we all, including the students and me, wouldn't be able to speak to you today.
At Shree Bagheswori Madhyamik School in Galchhi, children also escaped after teachers told them to leave their classrooms and abandon their bags and lunch boxes. Some pupils later returned with their families to search through thick brown and grey mud covering benches, walls, notebooks and the courtyard.
I feel proud that we saved so many lives.
Kopila Mizar could not find her son’s backpack, but said, “My son is alive, that is my biggest happiness.” The flood damaged schools and swept possessions into piles, but most children at the school appeared to have survived, according to families.
My son is alive, that is my biggest happiness.
About this summary
Originally published by ABC Australia 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.
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