Nepal flood principal says evacuation saved 900 students

Rajendra Dawadi, principal of Trishuli Bazaar Secondary School near Nepal's Trishuli River, said an urgent warning on the morning of August 26 allowed teachers to move around 900 students to higher ground before floodwaters destroyed the school minutes later.

Dawadi said his accountant came to the school warning that the flood was coming. He ordered an evacuation even though a false alarm would have cost a day of classes. Bus drivers bringing more students were told to turn back, including one who had already entered the school grounds.

Dawadi later described himself as "a principal without a school" after watching the building collapse into the torrent. He said five students died in flooding outside the school, along with a teacher and a security staff member. He also said authorities in Trishuli Bazaar had not provided an evacuation plan.

The flood was unleashed by a massive glacial and rock collapse along the Nepal-China border. It has killed at least 1,362 people and left more than 5,500 missing across the two countries.

The disaster has also damaged education in Nepal. Save the Children cited figures showing at least 69 schools destroyed or damaged and nearly 19,000 children affected. Dawadi said the old school site in Nuwakot district is no longer safe and that the community needs somewhere safe to build again.

Other Nuwakot survivors have described homes, fields and land being swept away, leaving families in temporary shelters or staying with relatives. The United Nations has appealed for $50 million to help more than 84,000 people affected in Nepal.