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Nepal Principal Evacuates 900 Students Before Flood Sweeps Away School

Environment14 sourcesSep 1, 2026
FlatRigor 4914 sources

The Story

Rajendra Dawadi, principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot, Nepal, is being praised for saving hundreds of students from a devastating flood last week. Dawadi evacuated around 900 students after a staff member alerted him to an imminent flood. He also instructed bus drivers who were on their way to school to reverse course. Dawadi had less than 15 minutes' warning before mud water swept through the school. The older children started first, and younger kids were not scheduled to arrive until later in the morning. Dawadi told The New York Times that a couple of students became traumatized and fainted, and teachers scooped them up and evacuated them on motorbikes. He stated, "It would not have been possible to save everyone, had kindergarten and primary school students also been there." Dawadi decided to evacuate, thinking, even if the warning turned out to be wrong, the worst it would cost them was one day of study. He added, "But taking it lightly could mean the loss of hundreds of lives." The school building was completely destroyed in the flood. Dawadi expressed emotion, stating, "I am extremely emotional to see the school completely swept away." He also noted, "We saved lives, but now there is no place to teach the students." A catastrophic flood swept through the Nepal-China border last Wednesday, killing around 1,000 people and leaving thousands missing. Around 85 Americans are among the missing.

The Spread

What they agree on

  • School principal Rajendra Dawadi evacuated approximately 900 students from Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nepal last week.
  • The evacuation occurred shortly before a flood swept away the school building.
  • Dawadi received a last-minute warning about the imminent flood.
  • The flood was part of a larger catastrophic event in the Nepal-China border region that killed around 1,000 people.

Where they split

  • The Daily Wire and The New York Times include a direct quote from Principal Dawadi about the difficulty of saving younger students and his reasoning for the evacuation.
  • OnlineKhabar (English) focuses on a vice-principal's actions at a different school, Uttargaya Public English Boarding School, and its efforts to locate several missing children.
  • Al Jazeera and Reuters specify that Dawadi had "just 14 minutes' warning" before the mud water swept through.

Source Perspectives

Center13 sources
Right1 source