Stranger ran past school screaming 'Run, Water'

 

Stranger ran past school screaming 'Run, Water' 

It saved 370 kids, teachers

Vishant Agarwala reports from Nuwakot, Nepal  in The Times of India of 31st August 2026

"The big flood is coming, run...' 

An unidentified man sprinting past Uttargaya Public School in Betrawati, across the river and a few km from Trishuli Bazaar, shouting those words gave more than 370 pupils and their teachers the warning they desperately needed. 

Within minutes, children were scrambling towards the forested hill behind the campus as the surge cut across roads and normal escape routes. The school routine had barely begun on Wednesday. Hostel students were at breakfast when the cry rang through the compound. There had been no siren, automated message or official alert before the children began running.

The warning that reached Uttargaya came from a stranger outside the compound - shouting loudly enough for teachers to act. Older pupils from Grades 7 to 10 themselves, and the staff helped younger children through mud, carrying some in arms when they could not keep up. 

English teacher Somlal Dangol said,"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."

Grade 10 student Sujal Lama had finished his morning tuition and was heading towards the school's breakfast when the warning spread. He initially thought the river would not rise very high. Sujal said on Sunday, "If I had gone to eat, the flood would have caught me," . He ran towards the forest, spent the night there and was given food by the teachers once he had gathered enough courage - his teachers said 'bravado' - to return towards the building.

Class 8 student Rashmi Tamang recalled the struggle uphill. "We managed to climb up even though we were covered in mud, but many children couldn't even run," she said. 

For one family a parent's attempt to reach the school ended in tragedy. Nawaraj Tamang rushed towards Uttargaya after learning about the flood to find his Grade 10 son Ayush.

Before leaving, he told his mother, Mungsi Tamang, tha he was stepping out to bring Ayush home. Nawaraj was swept away before he could reach the school. Ayush escaped into the forest and survived.

Vice Principal Pawan Sharma and teachers were scattered with groups of children on higher ground, with communication channels disrupted. Sharma said,"Relatives of students are calling continuously, but I don't even have the records of those children with me any more."