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Earthquake in Nepal: THW delegating advance and SEEWA team

After the severe earthquake in Nepal with more than 2,000 deaths and about 5,000 injured people, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) has sent at noon today on Sunday an advance team to Kathmandu on behalf of the Federal Government. The task of the team of four is to support the German Embassy in coordination and reconnaissance tasks as well as the preparation of the operation. In the evening, further eleven operational staff of the Rapid Deployment Unit Water Supply Abroad (SEEWA) will fly to the operational area. They will first explore the situation on site and identify possible places of action, including water extraction sites.

“The earthquake in Nepal, which has caused so many deaths, is a major disaster. The international community must now support the region. It goes without saying that THW, too, will take rapid and non-bureaucratic action to participate in the support mission. I would like to thank the THW staff and wish them much strength and success. I would also like to thank the employers, who grant them time off from work for this important task”, said the Federal Minister of the Interior, Mr Thomas de Maizière on the occasion of the departure of the THW team.

The advance team is expected to arrive in the deployment area tomorrow at noon on Monday. The necessary special equipment for the treatment of the drinking water – two drinking water treatment units (TWA) including the appropriate laboratory – as well as camp equipment to accommodate the THW staff and to support the embassy will be later dispatched with an aid flight of the German Red Cross (DRK).

After severe earthquakes such as in the region around the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, it is not only the rescue and recovery of the victims but also the supply of the population with drinking water which plays an important role. Clean drinking water is not only the most important foodstuff of all but is also needed for the treatment of injured people. With the two TWA, the team can produce up to 10,000 litres of fresh drinking water per hour, which meets the requirements of the WHO standards. The quality of the treated water is constantly being checked in the laboratories, which had been taken to the area.