Satellite Images Reveal Devastating Impact of Bhote Koshi-Trishuli Floods on Schools
At least 19 schools and over 7,000 students in three districts severely affected by floods in Rasuwa, according to Nepal’s Ministry of Education, Science and Sports.
Many school buildings have been damaged, and some schools report missing teachers and students.
This situation raises serious concerns about the future of educational activities in these remote mountainous regions.
According to officials, 19 schools or their buildings have been damaged or their teachers and students have lost contact. These include both public and private institutions with 6,904 students enrolled.
What Damage is Visible from Satellite Images?
At least nine schools have been completely destroyed while seven others have suffered partial damage. Most of the worst-affected schools are located in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts. In these two districts, eight schools attended by 2,425 students have been fully damaged or buried under mud due to the floods.
Some affected schools had nearly 1,500 students enrolled. The school with the fewest students is located in Rasuwa’s Uttar Gaya rural municipality, where only 11 students were enrolled, according to official data. One school also reported losing a school bus carrying students to the floodwaters.
Image Source, Getty Images
The disaster has heavily affected the Nepal-China border region and is considered the largest natural calamity since the 2015 earthquake centered in Sindhupalchok.
Officials have stated they are currently assessing the extent of damage to people and property due to the recent flooding, while contact remains lost with some students and teachers in certain districts. According to the latest report from the Ministry of Education, more than 200 students are missing and approximately 20 are reported swept away by the floodwaters.
Ministry of Education spokesperson Bir Bahadur Dhami confirmed that 200 students and four teachers at Nilkantha Secondary School in Uttar Gaya Rural Municipality, Rasuwa, remain out of contact.
Satellite images taken before and after the flood in affected areas show school buildings standing before the disaster but now many are buried in silt or entirely destroyed, with no structures visible.
Other organizations warn the flood impact could be worse. UNICEF on Thursday called for rapid emergency relief funding of $17.2 million, indicating that over 17,000 children require urgent assistance.
Spokesperson Dhami also said the government has formed a team to conduct damage assessments of educational institutions affected by the disaster. The team plans to collect data from the three most impacted districts within seven days and submit a report within three days thereafter.
“If the situation stabilizes, we may conduct classes in tents or arrange for students to study at nearby schools,” he stated.
A School That Successfully Protected Its Students
While searches for missing persons continue, officials report that nearly 20 students were swept away by the flood, including three from Nuwakot who were on their way to school.
Spokesperson Dhami added, “We are fully focused on rescue and relief efforts, and currently all schools in affected areas remain closed. The situation is very distressing, and even educational activities outside the disaster zones have been disrupted.”
Despite structural damages caused by the flood, many schools succeeded in protecting their students.
For instance, the Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot was completely damaged, but all students were saved, officials said. Teachers had sent students home before the flood arrived. One staff member and one teacher remain missing.
Principal Rajendra Dawadi said that immediately after receiving a phone call warning from Rasuwa, the school accountant evacuated all 900 students and 30 staff members to safety. Dawadi received the alert while attending class on the third floor.
“I rang the bell to alert everyone and urged them to move to safer locations. It took some effort to get everyone out. I couldn’t even take my bike with me,” he recalled.
He added, “If I’d been 30-40 seconds later, the water would have caught us. If delayed by five minutes, no one would have survived.”
Although a private school in Rasuwa was completely swept away by the flood, the students remained safe. Nearby, some students have been relocated to secure locations.
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