Attachments
SIMPLIFIED EARLY ACTION PROTOCOL
Summary of revisions to the operation
The latest episode of monsoon rain started on 26 September 2024 and lasted for three days. The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology issued an alert one week before that many parts of the country will experience heavy rains resulting in water-induced disasters.
In response, the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) activated its Simplified Early Action Protocol (sEAP) following a decision made during the advisory committee meeting (comprising NRCS and IFRC representatives) on 26 September 2024. The sEAP was triggered to support communities living in the Babai and West Rapti river basins in the western part of the country. As part of the early actions, NRCS 102 volunteers (Barida- 72 and Banke- 40) informed local communities about the potential flooding and helped prepare them for evacuation. Volunteers also arranged shelter at pre-identified evacuation sites, with relief items and transport vehicles kept on standby. A total of 3,600 people were reached with the early warning messages under DRR. No other early actions activities were carried out in the targeted communities.
However, unexpected heavy rainfall was recorded in the Kathmandu Valley and nearby eastern areas which did not cover the targeted areas of the sEAP which is in the western part of the country. During 26 to 30 September, very less rainfall was recorded in the sEAP target area. Hence, the sEAP was de-escalated on 28 September 2024 after being active for 48 hours.
Currently, the communities remain prepared. The volunteers are standing by, and preposition stock is available in case similar actions are needed in the coming weeks or months. The sEAP will remain active till the next trigger before May 2026. As part of the readiness, NRCS conducted five events of drills/simulation exercises in Kailali (two events), and Banke (three events) Districts. Mapping of evacuation centres in Kailali, Banke and Bardiya was conducted in July 2024. As a result, 17 evacuation centres were mapped out (Banke- 6, Bardiya- 8 and Kailali- 3) which are functions and can be used in case of emergency. In addition, the forecast monitoring team in each district continued to monitor the weather forecast throughout the monsoon period (June to October 2024). The NRCS is preparing for a virtual lesson learnt workshop in December 2024.