Fourteen minutes before the flood hit, a warning sent 900 students running for safety
Summary
A last-minute warning sent 900 students and 16 faculty members running to safety at Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Bidur after floodwaters surged through the valley. The school’s headmaster says the 14-minute evacuation likely saved many lives as the disaster left towns destroyed and people missing upstream.
Key Points
- An early warning from the school accountant gave staff just 14 minutes to evacuate Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Bidur.
- About 900 students and 16 faculty members were saved as floodwaters and mud swept through the valley upstream.
- Headmaster Rajendra Dawadi ordered the class stopped, buses diverted, and students moved to higher ground.
- The school, rebuilt after the 2015 earthquake, no longer exists and its former site now lies inside the riverbed.
