In a world where 'just in time' usually means your coffee arrives lukewarm, one Nepalese head teacher has redefined the phrase with a life-saving urgency that puts us all to shame. Rajendra Dawadi, the head of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot, evacuated 900 pupils a mere 10 minutes before catastrophic floods tore through the region, a disaster that has so far claimed at least 794 lives and left 2,426 people missing.
The clock was ticking at 09:10 local time (03:25 GMT) when Dawadi's phone began buzzing with not one, not two, but four separate warnings from different people. Sensing that four calls in quick succession might be the universe's way of saying 'run,' he made the call: students to higher ground, buses turned around, and a potential catastrophe averted.
'If we didn't make a quick decision, if it was 10 minutes later, we all - including the students and me - wouldn't be able to speak to you today,' Dawadi told the BBC, adding that the parent who came to fetch her daughter was the final straw. 'Parents don't rush without a strong reason, so it was confirmed that I shouldn't waste a second to evacuate the children.'
His gamble paid off. The school building was buried under mud and debris, and a hostel just 100 meters (328 feet) from the river was swallowed instantly. But not everyone grasped the gravity of the situation right away. Pupil Yunisha Amatya, 16, survived by a hair's breadth - literally 10 seconds - as she and friends scrambled uphill via a narrow ladder behind the school. 'Within no time, the bazaar was swept away in front of my eyes,' she recounted, noting that one classmate fainted upon hearing the news, while others lingered for friends in a math lesson.
Some weren't so lucky; those who chose a different escape route were apparently swept away. Students and teachers retreated a few hundred meters uphill, then to a neighboring village, where many remained stranded for two nights as roads were cut off. Dawadi and Yunisha, both living across the river, were eventually airlifted home.
Meanwhile, Yunisha's father, Yubaraj Amatya, was on a heart-stopping mission of his own. After hearing the news, he raced toward the school, only to find Trishuli Bazar completely obliterated. 'I thought my daughter was no more. I was so horrified, stopped my scooter, there was flooding but I could not think of returning without my daughter,' he said. For nearly an hour, he called without success - until the phone connected. 'Finally, my daughter received my call and I couldn't stop myself, broke out... two relatives that were with me also cried and hugged me.'
Yunisha tearfully recalled that moment: 'After I had reached the top of the hill, I received a call from my father. He was tearful and I could not speak a word then.' Her mother, Sabina Kumari Shrestha, admitted that even her younger daughter couldn't sleep until Yunisha returned three days later.
Now, with her immediate survival secured, Yunisha faces the next crisis: 'I am worried about my further studies. If I had to change my school, I would have to miss my old friends and will face difficulties to make new friends. I am sad about my further studies.'
Head teacher Dawadi believes better warning systems - sirens, evacuation alerts - could have helped more people, but he's proud of his split-second decision. 'Had I decided to close the school after the period, nothing might be left, only the bell would be ringing at 9:30.'