RismadarVoice Reporters
August 31, 2026
A last-minute warning about an approaching flood helped save the lives of more than 900 students and 16 staff members at a secondary school in Nepal before a devastating flash flood destroyed the entire building.
The incident occurred at Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Bidur, Nuwakot district, where Headmaster Rajendra Dawadi said an urgent alert from the school accountant gave them only about 14 minutes to evacuate before a massive wave of mud and floodwater reached the area.
According to Dawadi, the accountant received a warning from a relative in Rasuwa, an area hit earlier by the disaster, and immediately raised the alarm at the school.
“Stop the class, ring the bell,” Dawadi said, recalling the emergency evacuation that followed.
More than 900 students of the school’s approximately 1,600 pupils were on campus when the warning was received. Teachers quickly moved students to safer locations, while buses heading to the school were redirected away from the danger zone.
Parents arrived on motorcycles to take their children away, while others were evacuated by buses or moved towards higher ground as the floodwaters approached.
Dawadi said the final school bus had barely crossed a nearby bridge when the force of the flood destroyed another bridge in the area, underscoring how narrowly the students and staff escaped.
The Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, which had been rebuilt after Nepal’s 2015 earthquake, was located between the Trishuli River and a hydropower canal. The structure was later destroyed, with its former site now lying within the riverbed.
The disaster has caused widespread destruction in Nepal, with more than 900 people reported dead and thousands missing following the floods and landslides. Rescue operations are continuing in affected communities.
While many parents have credited Dawadi’s quick decision for saving their children, the headmaster said he wants authorities to rebuild the school in a safer location to prevent future tragedies.
At least one school staff member and the mother of the accountant who raised the alarm remain missing, according to Dawadi.
