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SUMMARY OF THE SIMPLIFIED EARLY ACTION PROTOCOL
The IFRC Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) has allocated CHF 199,964 for the implementation of anticipatory actions to reduce and mitigate the impact of floods in Nepal. This simplified Early Action Protocol (sEAP) includes an allocation of CHF 129,714 to preposition stock and undertake annual readiness activities to implement early actions, if and when the trigger is reached. The early actions to be conducted have been pre-agreed with the National Society and are described in the sEAP available here.
This report summarises the annual readiness and prepositioning activities done in the reporting period.
The Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), with technical support from the IFRC/Danish Red Cross, is implementing the sEAP for floods in western Nepal. The IFRC/Finnish Red Cross and the IFRC Red Cross Climate Centre are also actively engaged in this initiative. Funded by IFRC's DREF, this programme began in June 2024 and will continue for two years, covering 22 high flood-risk communities in 12 municipalities along the Banke, Bardiya, and Kailali districts across the West Rapti, Babai, and Karnali River basins, respectively. The sEAP aims to support vulnerable populations through early actions triggered by flood forecasts, enhancing their capacity to mitigate disaster impacts. As the National Society's first approved early action protocol, sEAP serves as an interim solution before a full Early Action Protocol is established. Early actions focused on safeguarding lives, household essentials, and livestock, while ensuring access to safe water and hygiene. Activities included early warning dissemination, evacuation to safe shelters, and resource preparation in collaboration with local governments.
The sEAP for floods was approved in June 2024, just as the monsoon season was approaching in Nepal.
Immediately after its approval, an orientation on the sEAP was conducted for NRCS’s national headquarter staff, volunteers, and staff from the targeted district chapters, with significant participation from all 12 targeted local authorities.
A consensus was reached among local authorities and district chapters to implement readiness, prepositioning, and early action activities in their respective municipalities.
After the orientation and sensitization of relevant stakeholders, communities for the sEAP interventions were chosen in collaboration with the respective municipalities, which also approved reaching the targeted communities.
Following the planned readiness activities across various sectors, most tasks were completed in 2024, though some remained unfinished due to time and human resource constraints. One of the key actions was the establishment of the sEAP advisory team at NRCS headquarters, comprising representatives from the IFRC Country Delegation, RCRC Climate Centre, Danish Red Cross, Finnish Red Cross, and NRCS. The primary role of this operational advisory team is to provide strategic support to NRCS and its programme team, ensuring the effective implementation of readiness, pre-positioning, and early action activities through prompt decisionmaking, as well as technical and managerial inputs. Additionally, forecast monitoring teams were formed at both the headquarters and in all three targeted districts. These teams remained active throughout the monsoon, regularly monitoring forecasts, updating forecast conditions using a dedicated template, and continuously comparing forecast data with the agreed trigger statements.
On 26 September 2024, based on the weather forecast issued by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), the sEAP was officially activated for the Babai and West Rapti River Basins. The DHM had issued special flood forecast advisories on the evening of 26 September, highlighting the West Rapti and Babai rivers with red colour, indicating a high possibility of flooding on 28 September. This activation was triggered after the forecast aligned with the pre-determined thresholds and criteria established in the sEAP's trigger statement for these rivers. After the activation decision, a forecast messaging dissemination, construction of emergency shelter, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention message dissemination, pre-arrangement of evacuation centres, volunteer deployment for the community engagement and accountability (CEA) and other early actions were promptly implemented at the municipalities in the affected areas within these basins.
In Banke district, early actions were carried out in Raptisonari Rural Municipality, Duduwa Rural Municipality, and Narainapur Rural Municipality. Similarly, in Bardiya district, early actions were initiated in Gulariya Municipality,
Thakurbaba Municipality, and Barbardiya Municipality based on the activation of the protocol. NRCS District Chapters mobilised volunteers in targeted communities to prepare communities for early evacuation, but ultimately the river level did not reach to the forecasted level. Early action activities were therefore de-escalated on 28 September as the forecast did not materialise, and the Operational Advisory Team decided to deactivate the sEAP after one week of activatio n.
This sEAP has tested the activation and trigger system, as well as strengthened the capacity of the targeted district chapters and communities to effectively implement early actions in a timely manner. It has also enhanced their preparedness by ensuring the readiness and pre-positioning of essential items required for immediate response once the trigger threshold is met. Municipalities and district chapters are better equipped to make informed decisions regarding the activation of early actions by comparing forecast data with the trigger statements for each specific river.
In summary, NRCS, along with community members, remain better prepared for the next activation of the sEAP in the targeted river basins and adjoining municipalities, with a particular focus on the 22 selected communities across all three districts. As part of readiness efforts, the NRCS has identified sector-wise volunteers and provided them with orientation on evacuation procedures, logistics, water purification and treatment processes, early warning communication channels, and their roles and responsibilities during early action interventions. A total of 372 volunteers were on standby, and 76 volunteers were mobilized during the activation in September 2024 and will be deployed again if the sEAP is activated later in the future.
Through the sEAP, significant progress was made in strengthening community preparedness and response mechanism. The sEAP has facilitated the mapping of existing evacuation centres, conducted community drills and simulations focusing on early warning communication and evacuation processes. Additionally, households with inadequate access to clean drinking water and proper hygiene were identified. Furthermore, shelter kits, waterproof plastic bags, hand mikes, and other essential shelter items were pre-positioned for rapid deployment during the next activation.
The IFRC resumed the procurement of shelter items and dignified hygiene kits, addressing delays caused by changes in financial systems. Furthermore, the NRCS maintained regular coordination with the respective municipalities and ward offices, ensuring their involvement in monitoring both the readiness activities and the execution of early actions throughout the reporting period.
The variance between the budget and actual expenditure was due to the short timeframe, less than a month before the monsoon started, which affected the ability to complete all planned readiness and prepositioning activities.