GOAL UPDATE NEPAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE MAY 2015 GOAL UPDATE PRESENTED BY: Ciara Smullen

GOAL UPDATE

NEPAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE
        MAY 2015

      GOAL UPDATE

     PRESENTED BY:
      Ciara Smullen

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GOAL’s Nepal Emergency Response

Background

On the 25th April, an earthquake of 7.9 magnitude and a depth of 2 km, hit Nepal near the capital
city of Kathmandu. The earthquake, the worst to hit Nepal in over 80 years, struck less than 50 miles
from the capital city, Kathmandu, and flattened entire villages.

The death toll in Nepal now stands at more than 7,500, while
more than 14,000 people have been injured. There are
warnings that the number of deaths will rise to 10,000 once
rescue teams reach remote regions. Deaths have also been
reported on Mount Everest, and in India, China, Bangladesh
and Tibet.

The government has declared a state of emergency in the
affected areas, and help has been offered by countries around
the world.

A GOAL emergency response team was immediately
dispatched and is currently responding to the needs of the
people of Nepal affected by this devastating earthquake.

Source: ACAPS

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Current Humanitarian Situation

Tens of thousands of people are staying in temporary, tented shelter outside their houses, following
a series of aftershocks. Hospitals are overrun and huge numbers of people have been left homeless
and tens of thousands of people are sleeping rough.

Aftershocks are expected to continue for some time, causing even more damage. There have been
at least 48 aftershocks in total following Saturday’s initial earthquake with two major aftershocks of
6.6 and 6.7 magnitude.

There is little or no information
regarding rural areas surrounding
Kathmandu. (Source: ACAPS
briefing note, Apr 26), but a large
number of villages on the
outskirts of the capital have been
completely flattened.

Limited access, as well as the size
of the geographical area and a
scattered population, is expected
to seriously hinder humanitarian
efforts. Already-poor road
systems have been further
damaged by the quake with rain
already causing difficult
conditions and landslides in some
areas.

According to UN, 8million people in need of humanitarian assistance and 1.4 million needing food
assistance. The number of casualties, as well as the number of dead, is expected to increase into the
thousands.

Recovery teams are continuing to search desperately for survivors trapped in the rubble, a task that
has been compounded by the fact that the entire city is without electricity. The poor state of Nepal's
infrastructure also means it will still be an enormous challenge to first locate and rescue those
buried alive (BBC 25/04/2015).

Challenges in Access to Services

Food: People have reported restricted access to food. Many families maintain large store of grains
(restocked each harvest season), but poorer families and landless families have much more limited
food stocks.

Health: Hospitals are overwhelmed. On 25th April, doctors were forced to treat victims in open
spaces. Medics are expecting a fresh influx of patients in the days to come as supplies run low (BBC
26/04/2015).

WASH: People have reported limited access to drinking water. Water supply in Kathmandu had been
interrupted in early April. Sanitation is a major concern. Most houses in Kathmandu store water in
water tanks. These are expected to run out quickly.

Shelter: Houses have cracked or fallen. Older buildings have collapsed. In villages, whole
neighbourhood buildings have collapsed. People have been sleeping in the open since 25th April
with no protection, as aftershocks are still being felt (BBC 26/04/2015).

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Electricity: There is no electricity in Kathmandu. The city was under load-shedding, meaning there is
no electricity for 12 hours every day before the earthquake. Electricity will be vital in hospitals and to
provide protection to populations whose houses have been destroyed. It is unclear how much petrol
the city has and whether more can be trucked in through damaged roads (BBC 25/04/2015).

Communication: There is erratic internet and
mobile phone communications have been
badly affected(BBC 26/04/2015).

Infrastructure: There is significant damage on
infrastructure and roads. Collapsed buildings
and rubble have blocked access to the area and
affected population. Landslides have also been
reported, further hampering access to more
remote locations (BBC 26/04/2015). As of 26
April, the status of the main and feeder roads
outside of Kathmandu Valley is still unclear
(UNICEF 26/04/2015).

Source: Acaps Briefing Note, Apr 26

GOAL’s Response to the Earthquake

Following news of the earthquake, a GOAL emergency response team was immediately dispatched
and is currently responding to the needs of the people of Nepal affected by this devastating
earthquake.

GOAL is now moving essential provisions such as emergency relief kits, shelter materials and hygiene
kits into remote areas as rapidly as possible. See table below*

With eighty to ninety percent of towns and villages destroyed in many of these remote areas,
concern continues to rise for survivors who have yet to receive any form of humanitarian assistance.

The villages that GOAL is distributing relief items to are extremely difficult to access and spread
across a vast geographical landscape, so logistics and distribution will be our biggest challenge.

GOAL is drawing on the assets of GOAL’s operation in India to circumnavigate the log-jam in
Kathmandu by bringing supplies over the border from India and into these areas.

GOAL is also working in partnership with The Umbrella Foundation, an Irish-registered NGO working
with vulnerable children and families in Nepal.

Shelter, water, sanitation and helath/medical needs are GOAL’s key priorities at the moment as we
                        try to deliver an effective response for the survivors.

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Family Kits being distributed by GOAL contain the following items:

1.      Tarpaulin
2.      Blanket
3.      Floor mat
4.      Jerry can
5.      Hygiene kit
(Soap, Washing powder, Detergent soap, Toothpaste, Toothbrush, Comb, Disposable razors)
6.      Bucket with lid
7.      Dignity kit
(Ladies dress, Saree, Petticoat, Salwar Kurta, Nightie (dress to sleep in), Ladies undergarment,
Sanitary napkins
8.      Washable napkins
9.      Towel
10.     Nail cutter
11.     Safety pins
12.     Diapers
13.     Umbrella – foldable
14.     Needle and thread
15.     A bag
16.     Old newspapers

Hundreds of thousands of families in Nepal are still sleeping outside amid fears of aftershocks from
                                last week's massive earthquake.

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                                                 Rural Nepal