Attachments
The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volu nteers are active in over 185 countries.
In Brief
Operations Update no. 3; Period covered: 27 September to October 9, 2007; Appeal target: CHF 2,006,481 (USD 1,667,898 or EUR 1,220,487); Appeal coverage: 95%, Outstanding needs: CHF 525,613 (USD 437,919 or EUR 319,716).
Appeal history:
Disaster relief emergency fund (DREF) released on 2 August 2007 for CHF 250,000 to replenish the Nepal Red Cross Society's (NRCS) disaster response stock.
Preliminary Appeal launched on 8 August 2007 for CHF 2.32 million (USD 1.93 million or EUR 1.4 million) to assist more than 20,000 families affected by landslides and extensive flooding in different parts of Nepal for 6 months.
Emergency Appeal launched on 29th August 2007 for revised amount of CHF 2.06 million (USD 1.6million or EUR 1.2 million) to deliver assistance to more than 25,000 flood and landslide affected families.
Operational Summary
Torrential monsoon rain caused heavy flooding in different parts of the plain areas and landslides in the hilly areas of Nepal. Out of Nepal's 75 districts, 62 were affected leading to increased vulnerability for thousands of people in almost two thirds of the country. 203 people are reported to have died, almost 106,214 families have been affected - out of whom more than 25,000 families were displaced. More than 75,000 houses, public infrastructure and thousands of hectares of farmland are damaged or destroyed.
The Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) has been distributing relief items in close coordination with the Government, United Nations (UN) and other humanitarian actors. The World Food Programme (WFP) has provided food items and UNICEF has provided water and sanitation related items to NRCS for distribution to the affected population.
The ICRC and partner national societies have supported NRCS with the supply of non-food relief items, in the form of family packages and tarpaulins. At present, more than 2,000 NRCS volunteers are actively carrying out relief work in the affected districts. The distribution of ready to eat food has been completed, the rest of the food and nonfood item distributions are ongoing, but in the final stage.
NRCS has mobilized its district chapters and sub-chapters for detailed assessments needed for the recovery process. Technical and financial supports from Red Cross Red Crescent Movement partners have greatly facilitated the operation, with good coordination between NRCS, ICRC and the Federation. The incoming funds have so far been used for distribution costs, including storage, transportation, volunteer mobilization and communication. The procurement process for 15,000 NFI kits is completed and the replenishment is in process.
Background
Torrential monsoon rainfall beginning from 10 July 2007 caused floods in the southern plains of Nepal and landslides in the hilly regions. As the heavy rainfall continued for over three weeks in the southern plains, the number of affected and displaced families increased dramatically. Water logging was a major problem in the southern parts of the country. The scale of the disaster was quite unprecedented, sustained and in large scale, which meant rescue and relief were highly difficult at the initial period. Moreover, there were cases of re-flooding which caused hindrances to the otherwise efficient and timely response. During this period, 640,658 individuals from 106,214 families in 62 districts have been affected with 25,857 families displaced and 75,760 houses completely or partially damaged.
The Government of Nepal gave NRCS primary responsibility for relief distributions, and appealed to international organizations and individuals at the national level to support the relief operation. Several UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations provided support to the NRCS in form of cash or in-kind donations. As soon as the disaster began, the country-wide NRCS network started its operation, distributing non-food relief items, such as tarpaulin and ready to-eat food, which was collected or procured locally with the support of the government. Since then and on a continuous basis, NRCS has been providing food rations with the support of WFP, drinking water with the support of UNICEF and NFI in the form of family kits with the support of the Federation and Red Cross Movement partners.
For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:
In Nepal: Nepal Red Cross Society, Umesh Prasad Dhakal (Executive Director), email: umesh@nrcs.org, phone: +977.14.27.0650, fax: +977.14.27.1915
In Nepal: Federation office, Andrea Reisinger, (Federation representative), email: andrea.reisinger@ifrc.org , phone: +977.14.28.5843, fax: +977.14.28.6048
In India: South Asia Regional Delegation, Mr. Al Panico (head of regional representation), email: al.panico@ifrc.org, phone: +91 11 2411 1122, fax: +91 11 2411 1128
Federation Asia Pacific Zone in Malaysia: Douglas Clark (disaster management response delegate), email: douglas.clark@ifrc.org; phone + 60 3 2161 0892, fax + 60 3 2161 1210, mobile + 60 12 977 0144.
In Geneva: Mr. Hiroto Oyama (regional officer), email: hiroto.oyama@ifrc.org, phone: +41.22.730.4273, fax: +41.22.733.0395