Uttargaya, Nuwakot, August 28
It was a normal morning at Uttargaya Public School in Bidur Municipality, Nuwakot, on August 26.
Students in school uniforms were making their way towards the school. Those staying in the hostel were eating breakfast in their uniforms. Some were playing on the school ground, while others had been attending early-morning tuition classes. Teachers were preparing for the day’s classes.
Then a loud cry suddenly echoed through the school.
“The flood is coming, and it’s taking everything on its way! Everybody run!”, somebody yelled.
At first, many students did not understand what was happening. Some teachers were left stunned.
But when they saw the torrent rising from the river and seemingly covering the sky, the teachers realised they had to get the students to safety.
Teachers and staff began rushing students towards the higher ground above the school. Students from Grades 7 to 10 ran on their own, while teachers pushed younger children towards the hill, carrying some of them in their arms.
But the efforts could not fully outrun the devastating flood that came from Rasuwa.
The flood reached students fleeing towards the nearby forest. Those who could not escape in time were swept away in seconds.
According to Uttargaya’s vice-principal Pawan Sharma, more than 370 students were enrolled at the school. But the school has so far been able to establish contact with only around 40 percent of them.
“About 25 to 30 percent have been handed over to their parents,” Sharma told Onlinekhabar. “We have also spoken to the parents of the remaining students.”
Sharma is still struggling to come to terms with what happened.
Parents of students who came to school that morning but have not returned home continue to contact him. But there is little he can offer them beyond reassurance.
“Relatives of students are contacting us from both inside and outside the country. But I don’t even have records of those children with me now,” Sharma said emotionally. “The relationship between students and teachers is always an intimate one. Losing even one student feels like losing an entire family.”
Another teacher, Somlal Dangol, said it was still impossible to determine exactly how many students were caught in the flood.
The flood struck around the time of the school’s morning assembly, leaving little time for students to react.
“Nobody had imagined that such a huge flood would come,” Dangol told Onlinekhabar. “That is why many did not run very far. By the time they saw the flood, they could no longer escape.”
Father swept away while rushing to save his son
As soon as Nawaraj Tamang learned that a massive flood was approaching, he rushed towards Uttargaya.
His only intention was to save his son, Ayush Tamang, a Grade 10 student at the school.
But Nawaraj was swept away before he could reach the school.
According to his mother, Mungsi Tamang, Nawaraj had been returning home from the market when he spoke to his son.
She said she became relieved when Nawaraj told her, “Mother, I have come to get Ayush.”
But moments later, she received devastating news.
“Your son has been swept away by the flood.”
“My son was swept away by the river,” Mungsi said through tears. “I had two sons. Now only one is left.”
Ayush said he did not know that his father was coming to get him. He had managed to escape towards the nearby forest after following his teacher’s instructions.
“Only a few of my friends ran with me. I don’t know what happened to the others,” Ayush told his grandmother, asking her not to cry.
Students who narrowly escaped
Grade 10 student Sujal Lama had just finished tuition and was heading to eat when the alarm about the flood spread.
At first, he continued towards the dining area, apparently not realising how serious the situation was.
Then he looked towards the river and ran straight towards the forest.
“When the teacher said the river was coming, I thought it wouldn’t be that big,” Sujal said. “But it was huge. If I had gone to eat, the flood would have caught me.”
He spent the night in the forest and was later given food by teachers.
“I will go home today,” he said.
Grade 8 student Rashmi Tamang also said she survived only because she managed to reach the forest in time.
“We climbed up even though we were covered in mud,” she said. “But many children couldn’t even run.”
