Swat school principal’s timely evacuation order saves lives of over 900 students

Swat school principal’s immediate evacuation order saved the lives of hundreds of students after the school was demolished in the flash flood that hit the valley on Friday.

Principal Saeed Ahmad, 59, said that when he looked at the stream during the rain, he realised that it was about to overflow its banks.

He ordered immediate evacuation and within 15 minutes, nearly 950 students and teachers left the school.

A few minutes late, torrents of water ravaged the school, washed away half of the building, its boundary wall, and the playground.

“Around 900 students were present on Aug 15,” said Sarwar Khan, a local councillor, adding, “This timely action by the principal saved 900 lives.”

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Ahmad has been serving as a principal for 12 years. He recalled that the same school building had collapsed during severe flooding 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,” he added

A school was among dozens of educational institutions destroyed by the recent floods that have devastated multiple districts in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, leaving over 350 people dead in the past three days, according to officials.

Pakistan remains one of the countries most at risk from the impacts of climate change.

Flash floods triggered by relentless rains have left a trail of destruction across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing more than 300 people, while authorities warn of more deadly downpours in the coming days.

According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the floods have damaged 74 houses, of which 11 were completely destroyed.

In 2022, disastrous flooding submerged nearly one-third of the country, claiming over 1,700 lives and inflicting an estimated $32 billion in damages.