Summary: CHF 97,137 was allocated from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies‟ (IFRC) Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 21 September 2011 to support the National Society in delivering assistance to some 5,000 beneficiaries. This DREF operation received an extension and concluded on 29 February 2011. The Canadian Red Cross replenished the DREF for this operation.

In response to the earthquake, the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) was able to reach 1,000 families with relief supplies, shelter tool kits and water purification units to address their basic needs for a period of two and half months. IRCS trained local volunteers and built their capacity to operate the water treatments units in Chunthang. This relief operation provided a great opportunity to the disaster response team members to demonstrate their skills during an emergency and also to gain more experience of a disaster response operation.

To document the learning from the operation a lessons learnt workshop with the national headquarters, Sikkim state branch staff and volunteers involved in the operation was held in February 2012. A short documentary was prepared for sharing operation achievement and challenges among other volunteers and also for future trainings. Furthermore, this would help IRCS in the long run to analyse the best practises and the gaps to improve Red Cross national disaster response mechanisms.

Despite the damage caused by the earthquake to infrastructure, transportation and communication and the challenges posed by landslides and heavy rains, IRCS was one of the first to reach the affected areas and to provide the affected people with relief supplies, family news service, and shelter kits and purified safe drinking water.

Prior to operation, a close coordination mechanism was maintained with the government authorities and NGO network to avoid duplication and to efficiently use the available resources.
FedEx as the corporate partner provided free services in transporting 1,000 shelter tool kits from IFRC DREF Final Report India: Sikkim Earthquake IRCS distributed non-food items to the earthquake affected population in Sikkim. Photo: IRCS. warehouse in Kuala Lumpur to Gangtok and arranging special facilities for the movement of goods. This partnership has led to time and cost (CHF 30,000) saving for IFRC.

Of the total allocated DREF, CHF 72,338 was spent. The balance of CHF 24,799 has been returned to DREF pot.

The major donors and partners of DREF include the Australian, the American government, the Austrian Red Cross, the Belgian government, the Canadian Red Cross and government, Danish Red Cross and government, the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO), the Irish and Italian governments, the Japanese Red Cross Society, the Luxemburg government, the Monaco Red Cross and government, the Netherlands Red Cross and government, the Norwegian Red Cross and government, the Spanish government, the Swedish Red Cross and government, the United Kingdom department for international Development (DFID), the Medtronic and Z Zurich Foundations and other corporate and private donors.

IFRC on behalf of IRCS would like to extend thanks to all for their generous contributions. Details of the contributions to the DREF can be found www.ifrc.org/dref