It has now been more than a week since Nepal was struck by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The official death tally has now risen to 7250, and the number is expected to rise still, with some sources estimating the minimum expected tally to reach 20,000, or an even higher estimate of 57,000. The official injury tally stands at 14,122, the number of houses completely destroyed at 20,052, and the number of houses partially destroyed at 186,285. With access to remote areas still scarce, these numbers can only rise still - it is estimated that around 500,000 homes are destroyed and 2.8 million people displaced.
The rescue operations are now winding down, and the hopes of rescuing more survivors from the rubble is slim. The focus is now switching to supplying food, water, clothes, shelter, basic sanitary supplies, and basic health services to the people across the affected regions. Given the remote location of the epicenter of the earthquake, many of the villages in the surrounding hilly regions are scattered and hard to access for any relief operations. Some villages remain entirely out of reach still, and the people there are fast running out of food, water, and basic supplies.
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| Geographical distribution of the number of deaths due to the earthquake (Data from May 01, 2015). Image credits: Nabin Kafle |
The rescue operations are now winding down, and the hopes of rescuing more survivors from the rubble is slim. The focus is now switching to supplying food, water, clothes, shelter, basic sanitary supplies, and basic health services to the people across the affected regions. Given the remote location of the epicenter of the earthquake, many of the villages in the surrounding hilly regions are scattered and hard to access for any relief operations. Some villages remain entirely out of reach still, and the people there are fast running out of food, water, and basic supplies.
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| Geographic distribution of the injures incurred due to the earthquake (Data from May 1, 2015). Image credits: Nabin Kafle |
There are a variety of different actors involved in the relief operations, from foreign governments and international organizations, to local grassroots activists, to the expat community. These actors been playing differing roles in the relief operations, roles which have been changing and evolving continuously. In this situation report, we shall attempt to summarize the state of the relief operations in Nepal, with a focus on the evolving roles of the various actors:
Foreign Governments and International Organizations
On April 29th, after assessing the situation on the ground in Nepal, UN-OHCA launched a flash appeal for 415 million USD in emergency funds to cover the "initial, vital life-saving aid". While the past week has seen an outpouring of support for Nepal from across the globe, this has not translated into the necessary financial commitments. As of May 2nd, 2015, the Financial Tracking Service reports initial pledges of 68 million USD, with only 7.5 million USD going towards the initial, vital requirements. This represents a shortfall of more than 400 million USD going towards emergency support.
There have been a variety of international organizations active on the ground in Nepal, lending their expertise and personnel towards the rescue and relief operations. Some of the major international operators have been the Red Cross, OXFAM, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, WHO, WFP, and a variety of UN agencies. These organizations have been involved in essential life saving work - in search and rescue, and in distributing the vital emergency aid supplies. In the meanwhile, they are also facing a major lack of funding, with unmet requirements (including the UNOHCA Flash Appeal) of nearly 1.5 billion USD.
In addition to the international organizations, foreign governments have also been actively supplying basic aid supplies, Search and Rescue (SAR) teams, and medical teams. With the search and rescue operations winding down, the Government of Nepal has begun urging the more than 4000 different SAR personnel, from 34 different nations, to return home. As for the Foreign Medical Teams (FMT), more than 100 have been registered on the ground so far, with over 90 already tasked for deployment. While there are sufficient surgical and trauma personnel, there is a lack of psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and other rehabilitation personnel. These medical teams also have yet to reach some of the remotest affected areas.
The Government of Nepal was completely overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. In such a situation, the government was unable to either effectively coordinate the disaster response, or effectively manage the inflow of resources into Nepal. While the tens of thousands of personnel in the Nepal Police, the Armed Police, and the Army were all dispatched for immediate search and rescue operations, they were severely hampered by a lack of resources - airstrips, helicopters, and other necessary infrastructure.
The government's attempts to regulate and manage the inflow of funds and supplies were very hampered by a series of missteps and miscommunicated efforts, which we have covered previously at the One Stop Portal in an extensive series of blog posts. These missteps and miscommunicated efforts led to a widespread distrust of the government's actions, even petitions to foreign governments and international organizations to take the lead in the relief efforts. There continues a public perception that the rescue efforts are secondary to political considerations, such as when the Taiwan SAR team were forced to return home after arriving at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu.
More recently, the government have been updating and easing up the controls on the flow of funds into Nepal, and to the disbursement of these funds. Additionally, the government has also been attempting to clear up issues with the flow of supplies through TIA by easing up customs controls in TIA. With these steps, the government seems to be finally forming a coherent strategy to manage the inflow and disbursement of funds and resources.
To aid with fast-tracking relief efforts, the government has set up a Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund. As May 2nd, 2015, there was a net outflow of 19.7 million USD from the fund (using an exchange rate of 1 NRS = 0.0098 USD), compared to only an inflow of 1.63 million USD. This represents a serious shortfall in the funds collected.
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| Initial estimations of emergency financial requirements (Image Source: UN-OCHA Flash Appeal) |
There have been a variety of international organizations active on the ground in Nepal, lending their expertise and personnel towards the rescue and relief operations. Some of the major international operators have been the Red Cross, OXFAM, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, WHO, WFP, and a variety of UN agencies. These organizations have been involved in essential life saving work - in search and rescue, and in distributing the vital emergency aid supplies. In the meanwhile, they are also facing a major lack of funding, with unmet requirements (including the UNOHCA Flash Appeal) of nearly 1.5 billion USD.
In addition to the international organizations, foreign governments have also been actively supplying basic aid supplies, Search and Rescue (SAR) teams, and medical teams. With the search and rescue operations winding down, the Government of Nepal has begun urging the more than 4000 different SAR personnel, from 34 different nations, to return home. As for the Foreign Medical Teams (FMT), more than 100 have been registered on the ground so far, with over 90 already tasked for deployment. While there are sufficient surgical and trauma personnel, there is a lack of psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and other rehabilitation personnel. These medical teams also have yet to reach some of the remotest affected areas.
The Government of Nepal
The Government of Nepal was completely overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. In such a situation, the government was unable to either effectively coordinate the disaster response, or effectively manage the inflow of resources into Nepal. While the tens of thousands of personnel in the Nepal Police, the Armed Police, and the Army were all dispatched for immediate search and rescue operations, they were severely hampered by a lack of resources - airstrips, helicopters, and other necessary infrastructure.
The government's attempts to regulate and manage the inflow of funds and supplies were very hampered by a series of missteps and miscommunicated efforts, which we have covered previously at the One Stop Portal in an extensive series of blog posts. These missteps and miscommunicated efforts led to a widespread distrust of the government's actions, even petitions to foreign governments and international organizations to take the lead in the relief efforts. There continues a public perception that the rescue efforts are secondary to political considerations, such as when the Taiwan SAR team were forced to return home after arriving at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu.
More recently, the government have been updating and easing up the controls on the flow of funds into Nepal, and to the disbursement of these funds. Additionally, the government has also been attempting to clear up issues with the flow of supplies through TIA by easing up customs controls in TIA. With these steps, the government seems to be finally forming a coherent strategy to manage the inflow and disbursement of funds and resources.
To aid with fast-tracking relief efforts, the government has set up a Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund. As May 2nd, 2015, there was a net outflow of 19.7 million USD from the fund (using an exchange rate of 1 NRS = 0.0098 USD), compared to only an inflow of 1.63 million USD. This represents a serious shortfall in the funds collected.
Local Initiatives
There has been extensive local participation, from volunteers of all stripes, in the rescue and relief efforts in Nepal. Local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have participated in the rescue and relief efforts, coordinating with other unaffiliated volunteers and grassroots activists to disburse basic aid supplies. There has been a spontaneous formation of local networks of grassroots activists, many receiving funds from donations from abroad, who have worked tirelessly to aid in the rescue and relief operations. There are unverified reports, however, that a large number of NGOs and grassroots efforts have simply run out of funds, and have had to operate with bank loans instead - a situation that is clearly unsustainable.
In addition to non-profit groups, the corporate sector of Nepal has also been actively participating in the relief efforts. There have been donations to the Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund, with Gorkha Group leading with a contribution of nearly 10 million USD. Chaudhary Group has been setting up relief centers in its centers of operation, and has also been supplying water, instant noodles, and other relief supplies in quake-hit areas. Nepal Telecom provided free messaging, calling, and data services for the initial few days after the earthquake. Such corporate efforts should only grow in scale and scope for any sustainable effort at relief, recovery and growth.
Social media and the evolving technology landscape
As soon as the earthquake hit, Facebook and Twitter became the central hubs for the flow of information from affected areas to the outside world. This trend has continued in the week after the earthquake. There have been some important political voices participating in this rapid exchange of information, with the Twitter account of the Minister of Finance Ram Sharan Mahat, and the Facebook account of the Member of Parliament Gagan Thapa being particularly pertinent examples. Other prominent voices have also pierced through the noise and confusion that has arisen in the social media every time there has been a change in government controls regarding the flow of funds and supplies. Clarifications of these by Swarnim Wagle and Nishant Shrestha have each been shared hundreds, if not thousands of times; they have become parts of the daily news cycle. In addition to simple exchanges of news and information, Facebook and Twitter have also become centers of collaborative efforts, through sharing statuses and posts about missing persons, and through exchanging information about where basic supplies are needed and where they are available. Finally, they have also become repositories for crowdsourced funding campaigns, often leading to the collection of substantial amounts of funds directed towards very specific goals.
The Expat Voice
Nepali expats from across the globe have come together to collect millions of dollars through Gofundme campaigns, Indiegogo campaigns, and a multitude of other crowdsourcing efforts. Large amounts have also been collected by Non-Resident Nepali Associations, and also by local expat Nepali Associations. The funds collected have been channeled into relief efforts, in some cases through large international organizations, in some others through established local non-governmental organizations, and also through trusted local networks. To a large extent, these funds have formed the backbone of any relief efforts by the grassroot activists in Nepal.
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| Funds raised in Gofundme campaigns |
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| Funds raised in Indiegogo campaigns |
In addition to collecting funds, the expat community has also been extremely involved in developing web tools to aid in the relief efforts. From participation in OpenStreetMaps, Micromappers, and Tomnod, to establishing large collaborations to design and build platforms like One Stop Portal, Kaha.co and NepalQuake, to simply collecting and sharing any relevant information through social media platforms, the expat community has found a way to stay engaged and relevant in the relief efforts.
Taking Stock: Needs Unmet
The week after the earthquake has seen incredible local involvement in the rescue and relief efforts, novel collaborative efforts at information dissemination through evolving technology platforms, and an unprecedented engagement of the expat community in the day-to-day happenings in Nepal. The week has also seen some troubling trends emerge. Access to the remotest affected areas still remains extremely limited, depriving these areas of the very basic aid supplies. The situation has not been helped by the severe shortfall in funding, either to international relief efforts, to government coffers, or directly to the local volunteers. In the meantime, the infrastructure remains in dire straits. Large swathes of the affected population are still going through a tenuous struggle to survive. There is very clearly a need for the global community to extend a much greater helping hand to Nepal.
Sources:
- Earthquake Relief Portal, National Information Technology Center, Nepal.
- International Center for Earth Simulation, QLARM Earthquake Loss Estimate.
- Dire Prospects Seen When the Full Nepal Earthquake Death Toll is Tallied, The New York Times.
- UNOCHA Situation Report No. 9, Nepal Earthquake 2015.
- UNOHCA Flash Appeal, April 29, 2015.
- Financial Tracking Service, Nepal Earthquake 2015.
- Nepal urges foreign rescue workers to scale down operations as hundreds mark Buddha's birthday, Fox News.
- Nepal Earthquake Health Update Situation Report No. 8: 3 May 2015, WHO.
- Interview of Bamdev Gautam, Home Minister of Nepal.
- Nepal customs holding up earthquake relief efforts, says United Nations, The Guardian.
- Nepal Earthquake 2015 - Urgent petition to United Nations and Prime Minister Sushil Koirala
- Nepal Rejects Taiwan's Offer to Help Rescue Efforts but Accepts Medical Help, The New York Times.
- Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund, Nepal.
- Meet the local volunteers behind Nepal's aid efforts, IRIN Asia.
- Nepali Billionaire Chaudhary Plunges Into Relief Work, Says Earthquake 'Huge Setback' for country, Forbes.
- Nepal Telecom provides free service till Thursday mid-night, My Republica.
- Non-Resident Nepali Association Pledged and Contributed List
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