Stranger's 'run, water' scream saved 370 Nepali students, teachers
What's the story
A stranger's timely warning may have helped save over 370 students and teachers at the Uttargaya Public School in Betrawati, Nepal, from the massive flood. According to TOI, the unidentified man shouted, "The big flood is coming, run..." as he ran past the school, which is situated across the river and a few kilometers away from Trishuli Bazaar. His alert reached the school before any official notification was issued.
Escape route
How the warning helped the school
The school day had just started when the warning spread across the campus.
Hostel students were having breakfast when they heard the man's warning, prompting an immediate evacuation.
Older students from Grades 7-10 ran toward a forested hill behind the school as floodwaters came gushing in while teachers assisted younger children through thick mud to higher ground.
English teacher Somlal Dangol said no one expected such a massive flood, which delayed their escape along usual paths.
School
'We managed to climb up...'
Dangol told TOI, "No one could have imagined a flood this massive was coming. That's why they didn't run far at first, and by the time they saw it, they could no longer escape along the main paths."
Rashmi Tamang, a Class 8 pupil, recalled the laborious climb to higher ground.
"We managed to climb up even though we were covered in mud, but many children couldn't even run," she told TOI.
Family tragedy
A father died while searching for his son
Amid the chaos, a family faced a heartbreaking loss.
Nawaraj Tamang rushed to the school to find his Grade 10 son Ayush after hearing about the flood.
Before leaving home, he told his mother, Mungsi Tamang: "Aama, ma Ayush lai lina aaye" (Mother, I have come to get Ayush).
Unfortunately, Nawaraj was swept away by the flood before reaching the school, while Ayush managed to escape into the forest and survived.
Rescue challenges
Efforts to reunite students with families
In the aftermath of the flood, Vice Principal Pawan Sharma and teachers were separated into groups of students on higher ground.
Sharma said they had managed to hand over about 25-30% of students directly to their parents.
In Nuwakot, a quick-thinking principal managed to save the lives of 900 students.
Rajendra Dawadi told the BBC he received four calls at 09:10 local time warning about the disaster.
He said if it were 10 minutes late, everyone would have been gone.