Lunch Break Saves Students as Nepal Floods Wreck Schools

In Dhading, one of the districts hardest hit by Nepal's catastrophic floods, a routine lunch break proved lifesaving for a group of schoolchildren. They had just left their classroom when the waters surged in, while students in other classes were evacuated by teachers who acted on a moment's notice.

"The teachers said, 'There is a flood and you should leave bags and tiffins,'" recalled Lakshmi Shrestha, a mother whose child attends the school. "That's how they managed to survive."

On Sunday, mothers and children returned to the mud-filled campus to search for belongings and assess the damage. Thick brown sediment coated benches, walls, and notebooks, and waterlines on the walls showed how rapidly the flood had risen. A pile of small, mud-caked backpacks — some with colorful key chains — sat waiting to be claimed. Kopila Mizar, another mother, could not find her son's bag but remained upbeat: "My son is alive, that is my biggest happiness."

Save the Children reports that at least 69 schools in flood-devastated districts have been destroyed or damaged, jeopardizing education for nearly 19,000 children — a figure expected to rise as rescue teams reach more areas. The government has ordered schools and universities to close for three days, and university exams have been paused. With communities still under flood warnings to move to higher ground, it is unclear when classes can resume.

The national disaster agency said Sunday that the death toll had reached 788, with 2,502 missing. Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 missing on their side of the border, including 261 foreigners in Tibet — over a hundred of them Nepalis — who were in the region for work, mountain visits, or pilgrimage.