NEPAL Earthquakes ECHO CRISIS FLASH No. 15 shortage Period covered 1. Map 25 April – 18 May 2015

Time of validity 18:00 () – 12:15 (UTC)

ECHO Field Office New Delhi – INDIA

Number of dead (Government of ): 8 604

Number of wounded (Government of Nepal): 16 808

2. Situation

The overall reported death toll resulting from the 25 April and 12 May earthquakes has now risen to 8 604, with 16 808 injured (Government of Nepal – GoN figures, 18 May). The highest number of deaths has been recorded in the district of Sindhupalchowk (3 423); the biggest impact of the 12 May earthquake was in where 66 people have so far been reported killed. Further increases of all these figures are still expected as access to remote areas is improving.

The number of reported destroyed and damaged houses has now risen to almost 490 000 and over 270 000 respectively. These figures increased significantly after the 12 May earthquake, as many of the buildings heavily damaged in the first earthquake collapsed. Demolition of heavily-damaged and unsafe buildings is emerging as priority, so as to allow rubble removal, recovery and reconstruction activities to take place. ECHO Emergency Contact Tel.: +32 2 29 21112 Aid organisations continue to reach more of the remote and hard-to-reach areas in the Fax: +32 2 29 86651 most affected districts, and it is crucial that the emergency humanitarian response is [email protected] further scaled ahead of the impending monsoon season (June). There has been an increase in the number of landslides since the 12 May earthquake, impeding ongoing responses to the 25 April earthquake. The main roads to Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk and

ECHO Crisis Flash No. 15 – NEPAL Earthquakes

Gorkha districts are currently open again, though feeder roads and trails beyond the district centres, as well as the main Araniko Highway to China (which passes through ) are closed on an intermittent basis. As the monsoon season approaches and deepens, such landslides are expected to take place on an increasing basis (source: Logistics Cluster).

Immediate priority needs remain Emergency Shelter, Emergency Health Care and Logistics. More than three weeks after the first earthquake, attention is now being paid to the elaboration of a more robust and systematic shelter distribution (i.e. beyond tarpaulins). Additionally, with crops ready to harvest and the next planting season about to start, there is a requirement for appropriate seeds, tools, livestock, and materials to build crop drying / storage facilities and livestock sheds. Where markets are functioning, cash transfers are recommended over in-kind distributions. Livelihoods may be further supported by cash transfers linked to rehabilitation of agricultural terraces and irrigation channels.

3. Needs and Response

Coordination

The two principal forward hubs of Gorkha and (Gorkha and Sindhupalchowk districts respectively) remain operational. An additional humanitarian hub is foreseen for Charikot (Dolakha district).

Cluster-specific detailed assessments have started across the most affected districts, with analysis and reporting to be completed by 25 May – though some of these had to be suspended in the aftermath of the 12 May earthquake.

On 15 May, the UN agencies presented to donors in Kathmandu an overview of the response so far, and the remaining needs and pipeline situations, with revised response strategies and targets. A revised Flash Appeal is to be presented on 29 May.

Shelter

To date, some 177 000 tarpaulins have been distributed, with 84 000 in the process of distribution, and a further 513 000 in the pipeline (Shelter Cluster, 18 May). With some 760 000 houses destroyed / damaged, and a recommended rate of 2 tarpaulins per household, this still leaves an estimated need of over 725 000 tarpaulins (though it is not clear that the Shelter Cluster is able to capture all the donations and distributions). There appears to be major shortage of blankets with only 21 000 distributed, and 17 400 in the pipeline. While all the emphasis is currently on tarpaulins, it is important to start the planning for the next stage, which will probably be focused on high-quality CGI (Corrugated Galvanised Iron) sheets. Tools and industrial gloves are required to assist in the re-utilisation of construction materials from damaged shelters.

Demolition of unsafe houses and buildings has been identified as a need by the EU CP (Civil Protection) structural engineers. Ongoing structural assessment, demolition and rubble clearance remain major challenges.

Health

Immediate needs include medical tents and equipment to substitute for destroyed health facilities, and general revitalization of health services and facilities, with primary healthcare delivery to and referral from communities in remote hard-to-reach villages in severely affected districts. Emergency medical supplies are not considered a priority.

The Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) with the support of WHO has instituted an epidemic-prone disease Early Warning and Response System (EWARS), utilising health-facility based surveillance on four syndromic diseases (acute respiratory infections, acute watery diarrhoea, acute bloody diarrhoea, and fever of unknown origin) from sixty sentinel surveillance sites in the fourteen highly affected districts (WHO Sitrep 15). No outbreak of infectious diseases has been reported. Contingency planning for the rainy season is to be initiated by the health cluster. Following the 12 May earthquake, WHO provided medical tents for five hospitals in Kathmandu; on 13 May, MOHP deployed a joint Nepal- India field hospital to Charikot (Dolakha district) as surge to support the existing teams in the district.

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Food and Livelihood

In addition to the emergency food rations being distributed by the GoN, WFP and NGOs, quality seeds (rice and millet) and tools, replacement livestock and storage facilities are emerging priority needs. Farmers who miss the 2015 planting season will be unable to harvest rice until late 2016.

WASH

The WASH Cluster has revised downwards its initial estimate of 4.2 million people affected by the earthquake, to approximately 660 000 for water, and 850 000 for sanitation.

Logistics

The window for cargo flights at Kathmandu airport remains at ten hours a day, resulting in a back-log of incoming cargo flights. Nevertheless, as of 14 May, the Logistics Cluster has processed approximately 1 700 MT of relief cargo through the Humanitarian Staging Area (HSA) established at Kathmandu airport; this is the equivalent of over 180 C-130 cargo flights.

Challenges remain in optimizing the use of the foreign military assets which have been made available, though with the stand-down of the UK assets, and the loss of one of the US helicopters, greater attention is being given to upscaling humanitarian air access (UNHAS now have two Mi-18 helicopters in service, with three more coming), and to maintaining and re-opening road and trail access, and seeking solutions such as the use of local populations and porters for transportation of relief items. As of 15 May, WFP are using Kolkatta in India as a humanitarian transit point, with a road corridor established from Kolkata to Kathmandu; this can take seven to ten days, due to multiple checkpoints on the Indian side of the border.

EU Civil Protection response

The EU Civil Protection Team (EUCPT) has completed its mission, in line with UNDAC, on 17 May. The Czech FMT will stay up to 2 weeks longer.

Funding

As of 18 May, the GoN had raised EUR 58 million through the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund, for the rescue, treatment, relief, rehabilitation of victims and restoration of physical infrastructure damaged by the earthquake; of this, EUR 35 million had already been spent (GoN Earthquake Relief Portal, 18 May).

The UN’s three-month Flash Appeal, USD 423 million (approximately EUR 377.5 million), is due to be revised on 29 May. Total confirmed humanitarian funding allocations so far amount to approximately USD 193 million (approximately EUR 169 million), with a further USD 312 million (EUR 274 million) pledged, including a CERF allocation of USD 15 million (EUR 13.5 million). This includes the amount received against the UN Flash Appeal (USD 72 million), which currently stands funded at 17% (OCHA Financial Tracking Service, 18 May).

The amount of donations which are not included in the FTS, of multiple private donations, of in-kind donations, and of the value of remittances, is not known. Remittances, a vital mainstay of the rural economy in Nepal, usually account for up to 28% of rural incomes in Gorkha and Sindhupalchowk districts, but as yet there is no fresh analysis on the impact of the earthquake on these income flows.

4. Other

On 13 May, the Nepal Parliament endorsed a 27-point Resolution to support early recovery efforts. The resolution includes provision for housing reconstruction assistance, temporary shelter construction, agricultural inputs and other relief and rehabilitation services (OCHA Sitrep 15).

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On 15 May, UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a Nepal Earthquake resolution, which was accompanied by an EU28 statement and a commitment from Japan to organise a donors' pledging cconference together with the ADB (Asian Development Bank).

A Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) is foreseen to start by the end of May 2015, under the leadership of the Joint Planning Commission.

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