A school principal’s quick decision to evacuate students helped save the lives of 1,643 children when a devastating flash flood tore through Nepal’s Trishuli Valley on Wednesday.

Rajendra Dawadi, principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, received a warning from a friend at around 9.20 am that a nearby village had been swept away by the river.

With floodwaters rising rapidly, the 47-year-old English teacher initially believed the school was safe. The three-storey concrete building stood around 60 metres above the river.

School bell becomes a warning to escape

A parent soon arrived with a more urgent warning that the water was rising quickly. Dawadi immediately rang the school bell and instructed teachers to evacuate the classrooms.

He also contacted the school bus drivers, asking all but one to turn back. Moments later, he saw the bus he could not reach crossing the bridge as conditions worsened.

Students began fleeing the school, with one girl suffering a panic attack and being taken uphill on a motorbike. Others escaped on foot, while Dawadi followed behind to ensure their safety.

Children find safety as school is swept away

The students eventually took shelter beneath a bodhi tree as powerful floodwaters swept away the school buildings.

Dawadi’s swift action helped save all 1,643 children and all but one member of the teaching staff. Social history teacher Santos Pariyar, 32, was swept away after returning to his rented room near the river to prepare breakfast.

The school’s janitor, Sultan Lama, also died after returning to close the doors.

Principal refuses to call himself a hero

Locals have praised Dawadi as a hero for his actions, but the principal remains humble about the role he played.

“What else could I do?” he said while looking at the muddy remains of the school.

The flash flood followed the collapse of a huge mass of ice and rock from Langtang Lirung peak, which plunged into the upper gorge of the Lhende Khola river near the Tibet border.

The disaster has left widespread destruction across the region, with buildings, bridges and other infrastructure swept away by torrents