Rajendra Dawadi, a 47-year-old school principal and English teacher of the Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School located in Bidur, Nuwakot district, has gained global recognition as a hero for saving the lives of his 1,643 students and staff members during the catastrophic flash floods in Bhote Koshi on the morning of 26 August, 2026.
The Warning:
Around 9:20 AM, Dawadi received an urgent, panicked phone call from a friend upstream warning him that a nearby village had been wiped out. Moments later, a parent rushed into the school reporting rapidly rising waters.
The Quick Decision:
Rather than waiting for official confirmation, Dawadi immediately rang the school bell and instructed teachers to abandon classes and clear the building along with the students. He quickly decided to evacuate, telling the children to run to higher ground and ordering buses full of students to turn around to flee the area.
Intercepting the Buses:
Recognizing that roughly 700 of his students were still commuting, he frantically called school bus drivers, instructing them to turn back immediately.
The Escape:
He led approximately 900 on-campus students and 16 staff members to higher ground under a Bodhi tree. Merely 14 minutes after the initial warning, a massive wall of mud, water, ice, and debris completely swallowed and destroyed the three-story school building.
Because of his decisive leadership, every single student survived what has been described as a "10-second window between life and death". Tragically, while all the children were saved, two staff members who reportedly returned to dangerous areas near the river passed away.
International media outlets, including the Associated Press, BBC, Reuters, The New York Times, NDTV among others have widely praised Dawadi's prompt action using his mind and courage.
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