Everyone knows that Rajendra Dawadi saved 1,643 children in Nepal Flood.
But I don't think most of us realise how little time he may actually have had to make that decision.
I tried to map it.
So, the flood entered from the Nepal China border area and the school was roughly 50 km downstream from that point, based on my Google Maps measurement.
Reports put the flood's movement at potentially 75+ km/h in places.
That means, very roughly, the flood could have covered that distance in well under 50 minutes.
Now imagine having to evacuate 1,643 children from a school, move them through a narrow and busy area, and get them to higher ground , while the flood is already coming towards you.
The principal , Rajendra initially believed the school was safe. It was a concrete building around 60 metres above the river base.
Then a warning came.
He rang the school bell. Everyone had to move.
And shortly afterwards, the school and entire area was swept away as shown in picture 4.
That's the part I keep thinking about.
We call it a heroic rescue.
But what fascinates me is the decision making under extreme time pressure.
How does the human brain decide to abandon a place that appears safe, when you have thousands of lives depending on you and only minutes to act?
And if there are disaster response or psychology experts here, I'd genuinely like to know: what happens inside the brain when a person has to make a life-or-death decision in seconds?
note - My 50 km/time calculation is only an approximate reconstruction based on map distance and reported flood speed, not an official timeline.
#NEPAL: This is incredible. 1,643 children survived because one headmaster acted fast when disaster was already on the way.
He received a warning that a village upstream had been swept away by the river. He immediately rang the school bell and moved the children and teachers to higher ground.
School buses were on the way to school, He called the bus drivers and told them: "Don't come here. Go back."
One school bus was already on its way. The headmaster saw it approaching the bridge and told the driver to turn back. The bus reached safety just before the bridge collapsed.
Then the flood hit the school. The entire three-storey school was washed away. It completely vanished. Not even a trace was left behind.
But all 1,643 children survived.
47 year old Rajendra Dadabi a teacher who became a hero when it mattered most. One man's quick thinking saved 1,643 lives.
“god is coming for nepal” BRO SHUT THE FUCK UP LMFAO THERE ARE PEOPLE BURIED UNDER AND YOU SPEAK OF RELIGION ?? CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL DISASTERS ARE REAL PLEASE SHUT UPPPP
i cannot with religious people. They see so many lives in nepal get wiped out in seconds due to climate disasters and say this is because “Jesus is coming” “Qayamat is coming” “Kalyug” Bro no. stop. Get checked.
pray for algeria we’re literally living through a disaster rn more than 190 fires broke out across the north and east and hundreds of people have lost their lives please keep algeria in your prayers 🙏🏻
Algeria's wildfires are killing people, not just forests.
Mothers, fathers, firefighters trapped by flames
35 fires in the last 24 hours alone. This is a human tragedy.
genuinely hate all these people saying “nepal deserves this because they follow the wrong religion” “god is coming” “gods plan” my country doesnt deserve to suffer like this because you people cant fathom that climate change is real, so u use these horrific, religious excuses 😐
Nothing had infuriated me more than seeing those two nepali men robbing a deceased woman’s of her gold earrings in the aftermath of the disaster of the flood. disrespectfully pulling her by the hair to reach for jewellery. She was floating on the river so lifeless. Shame on them