Rajendra Dawadi, headteacher of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot, Nepal, evacuated about 900 students and faculty minutes before a flash flood hit the area on the morning of August 26, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Dawadi made the decision after receiving four warnings around 9:10 a.m. local time (03:25 GMT) about an incoming flood caused by a glacial collapse upstream [1, 2, 5]. He stopped classes immediately and ordered students to move to higher ground, turning buses around to avoid danger [1, 2, 3, 5].

"If we didn't make a quick decision, if it was 10 minutes later, we all - including the students and me - wouldn't be able to speak to you today," Dawadi told reporters [1]. He added, "I decided I shouldn’t delay any more. Even if the flood was not coming, it was just a matter of a single day's classes," emphasizing the urgency of his decision [2].

Students, including 16-year-old Yunisha Amatya, escaped uphill through a narrow route and survived by seconds as floodwaters engulfed the town and the school [1, 2, 5]. "I, along with my friends, survived by just 10 seconds," Amatya said [2]. The school building was destroyed, buried under mud and debris from the flood [1, 3, 4, 5]. Man Maya Tamang, the mother of one of the students, said of Dawadi, "He was like a God. He gave life to my daughter and to many other children. Only God can do this" [3].

The floods struck the Nepal-Tibet border region early on August 26, triggered by a glacial collapse that sent a wall of water and debris downstream [2, 3, 5]. The disaster has killed between 794 and 919 people, with thousands more missing, as rescue and damage assessments continue [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Official counts vary, with some sources reporting at least 794 deaths and others exceeding 900 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Between 2,426 to nearly 5,000 people remain missing, including foreigners [1, 2, 4, 5].

The floods and mudslides destroyed or damaged at least 69 schools, affecting nearly 19,000 children in the region, according to damage assessments [2].

As of August 31, officials continue efforts to assess the full impact of the floods and locate missing persons [1, 4, 5]. The rescue and recovery work remains ongoing amid widespread destruction across the affected areas.