Nepal Headteacher Evacuates 900 Pupils Before Floods Hit School

According to the BBC, a headteacher in Nepal said he evacuated 900 pupils from Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot about 10 minutes before floods hit, after receiving four warning calls at 09:10 local time (03:25 GMT). Rajendra Dawadi said he sent the children to higher ground and ordered buses carrying students to turn back as the disaster, which has now claimed at least 794 lives, swept through parts of Nepal on Wednesday and left at least 2,426 people missing. The school building was buried under mud and debris, and a hostel about 100m (328ft) from the river was engulfed immediately, he said. Pupil Yunisha Amatya, 16, said she and her friends escaped with seconds to spare after teachers told students to go home. She said the group climbed uphill through a narrow ladder behind the school as the local bazaar was swept away, and added that many students and teachers were later stranded for two nights before rescue teams reached them. Dawadi and Yunisha, who both live across the river from the school, were eventually airlifted back to their home village.