With floodwaters surging into Nepal's Trishuli Valley, school principal Rajendra Dawadi had almost no time to weigh his options.
The school principal ordered an evacuation before all the details were confirmed, and that call appears to have protected hundreds of children.
After reaching higher ground, he looked back from a hillside and saw the campus swallowed by water, mud, rocks, and debris, the Associated Press reported.
Here's what to know
Urgent reports that floodwaters were speeding toward Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Bidur prompted Dawadi to send students and staff uphill. He rang the bell and told everyone to leave, even though at least 900 students were on campus.
Authorities tied the flooding to a glacial collapse in the Himalayas. The broader disaster left more than 950 people dead across Nepal and Tibet and more than 4,400 others missing.
He also phoned bus drivers and told them not to come to the school. After discovering that one student-filled bus had already arrived, he instructed the driver to head back. The bus crossed a newer bridge, and the older bridge next to it collapsed shortly afterward.
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Dawadi said he moved before the danger had been completely confirmed. Two staff members failed to escape and remain missing.
More background
For Dawadi, the destruction hit close to home. He once studied at the school and later came back as a teacher.
"I have no words. I got education from that school. And I gave education at that school," he said.
Save the Children reported that at least 69 schools were destroyed, putting the education of nearly 19,000 students at risk.
Suvina Tamang, a 14-year-old student, said that the school building was carried away soon after everyone was evacuated.
"I will thank him when I see him for saving my life," she said.
What's being done?
Dawadi said that students will need psychological counseling before regular classes can resume.
He said the return to lessons cannot wait long, even if the school must operate from a temporary site.
He is urging the Nepalese government to rebuild schools and get children back into classrooms.
When families returned to the destroyed campus, their reactions underscored the impact of Dawadi's choice.
"Their parents hugged me, they cried with me," he said. "They were emotional."
Where can I learn more?
What happened in Trishuli Valley reflects a broader reality. In Nepal, the Berkshires, and Kenya, students, volunteers, and youth organizers are stepping up when floods and other environmental crises put their communities, waterways, and essential services at risk.
• In Nepal, a student launched relief efforts after floods devastated his community.
• In the Berkshires, volunteers are upgrading stormwater defenses to shield fragile streams from worsening floods.
• In Kenya, youth leaders say communities are bound to suffer as environmental funding dries up.
Dawadi's quick call is one example of how communities are forced to adapt under growing climate pressure. The immediate danger may pass, but these stories also show how much recovery work begins after lives are saved.
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