In one of the areas worst hit by Wednesday’s catastrophic floods in Nepal, a group of schoolchildren managed to survive when they happened to leave their classroom for their lunch break. According to reporting from Dhading, Nepal, students escaped injury or death due to the timing of the midday recess and swift instructions from educators just as waters began rushing into the building.
Midday Recess and Rapid Evacuations Save Dhading Students
Children attending other classes at the Dhading school also escaped the disaster because teachers ordered them to evacuate their classrooms rapidly shortly before the floodwaters hit.
“The teachers said, ‘There is a flood and you should leave bags and tiffins,'” recalled Lakshmi Shrestha, a mother of a student at the school, as reported by the Associated Press. “That’s how they managed to survive.”
Returning Parents Face Devastation and Mud-Caked Debris
Shrestha was among several parents and children who returned to the site on Sunday to check for belongings and inspect the damage. The majority of pupils at the school survived the flash floods, according to local families.
Inside the classrooms, thick brown and gray mud coated benches, walls, and notebooks, while sediment filled the school courtyard. Water lines marked the walls to show the rapid rise of the floodwaters. On the benches and floors sat piles of small, mud-caked backpacks—some featuring colorful key chains—waiting to be claimed by returning students.
“My son is alive, that is my biggest happiness,” said Kopila Mizar, a parent who searched unsuccessfully for her son’s backpack among the debris.
Widespread Destruction Threatens Thousands of Young Learners
The destruction in Dhading mirrors a wider crisis facing educational institutions across the country. At least 69 schools in flood-devastated districts have been destroyed or damaged, threatening the education of nearly 19,000 children, according to figures released by the nonprofit Save the Children. Those figures are expected to climb as rescue teams push further into isolated areas.
In response to the torrential rains and subsequent flash floods and landslides, the government ordered all schools and universities to close for three days. University examinations were also paused across the nation.
With communities remaining under constant flood warnings that advise residents to seek higher, safer ground, officials have not yet announced when classes will resume.
Mounting National Death Toll and Missing Foreign Nationals
Nepal’s disaster agency reported Sunday that the national death toll had climbed to 788, with 2,502 people listed as missing. Across the border in China, authorities confirmed 16 deaths and 546 missing persons on the Chinese side of the region.
The missing populations include hundreds of individuals from more than a dozen countries who had traveled to the area for work, mountain visits, or pilgrimages to sacred peaks. Chinese state media noted Sunday that 261 foreigners were missing in Tibet, a total that includes over a hundred Nepalis alongside citizens from other nations.
