‘The Flood Is Coming’: How a Nepal Principal Saved 900 Students
Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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Outcome reported
- Principal Rajendra Dawadi ordered the evacuation of about 900 students after a colleague warned that a flood was approaching.
- The Trishuli Bazaar Secondary School collapsed into the river minutes after students and teachers reached higher ground.
- Dawadi said the decision involved weighing the risk of losing a school day against the possibility of losing lives.
“The flood is coming, the flood is coming,” an accountant told Rajendra Dawadi at the school near Nepal’s Trishuli River. The principal immediately ordered an evacuation of about 900 students.
Teachers rushed children from their classrooms to higher ground. Students panicked, and one girl fainted. Bus drivers bringing more students were told to turn back, including one who had just entered the school grounds.
The flood is coming, the flood is coming
Minutes later, Dawadi watched Trishuli Bazaar Secondary School, which he had run for years, collapse into the raging river. He recalled the choice he faced on the morning of August 26: “If the information was wrong, we would lose a day of schooling. But if it was true, we were going to lose our lives.”
The evacuation saved about 900 lives. Dawadi now stands above the river’s scarred banks, described in the article as “a principal without a school.”
If the information was wrong, we would lose a day of schooling. But if it was true, we were going to lose our lives.
About this summary
Originally published by Gulf Today 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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