Principal Saeed Ahmad's swift order on Friday saved nearly 900 students in Pakistan's flood-hit Swat Valley minutes before surging waters demolished their school.
"It was exactly 9 am when I had a last glance at the stream and sensed it was going to burst its banks due to continuing rains," Ahmad, 59, the school's principal, told Anadolu. Ahmad ordered an immediate evacuation of nearly 950 enrolled students.
Within 15 minutes, the children and teachers had left. Minutes later, torrents of water smashed into the school, washing away half the building, its boundary walls, and the playground.
"Around 900 students were present on Aug 15 when the flood struck our village and other adjoining areas," said Sarwar Khan, a local councilor. "This timely action by the principal saved 900 lives."
The school was one of dozens of educational institutions destroyed in floods that have wreaked havoc across several districts in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing more than 350 people in the past three days, officials said.
Ahmad, who has been serving as principal for 12 years, recalled that the same building was destroyed during floods in July 1995. "There were summer vacations; that's why there was no casualty," he said.
"That incident was in my mind when I decided to evacuate." Pakistan is ranked among the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
In 2022, catastrophic floods submerged one-third of the country, killing over 1,700 people and causing an estimated $32B in damage.
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