Rapid Response Payment No. 18/2007

Funds Sent To: Lutheran World Federation Nepal (LWF Nepal)

Amount Sent: US$ 50,000

Date: 31 July 2007

Details of Payment

Emergency: Floods in Nepal

Date of Emergency: Ongoing since the beginning of July

Implementing Partner: Lutheran World Federation Nepal (LWF Nepal)

Details of the Emergency: The late monsoon starting July 2007 has triggered flood and landslides in several parts of Nepal. As of July 29, 2007, 27 districts were affected with 54 people reported killed, 9 missing and 44 injured. Flood waters inundated many villages and municipalities, damaging houses and public infrastructure. According to the Nepalese Red Cross, an estimated 37,270 families (213,127 persons) are affected, 9,769 houses are damaged and 4,133 are destroyed. As a result of the floods, 2,101 families have been displaced. Access to the flood affected villages has become difficult with the national highway and many roads damaged and traffic disrupted in a number of places. In-country flights are also disrupted because of bad weather.

The population in many locations is cut off from health services, electricity and communication. Some of the schools are also closed. Crop fields have been inundated and destroyed. Displaced and flood affected families are taking shelter in schools, temples and open areas. These families are in acute need of food, drinking water, roofing sheets and emergency health services. The Government of Nepal, UN agencies and the Nepalese Red Cross (NRC) have started rescue and relief operations. Some humanitarian organizations have already given cash grants and in-kind support to the NRC.

On July 29, 2007, the Government of Nepal (GoN) appealed to INGOs and donor agencies for support to the relief and rehabilitation efforts through the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. Simultaneously, the GoN allocated NPR 50 million (some 770,000 US$) to the Prime Minister's Relief fund.

Purpose of Response: The purpose of this rapid response is to meet life saving needs of flood survivors in the Jhapa, Banke and Kailali districts.

Beneficiary Information and Location of Response: ACT/LWF Nepal will give humanitarian support to the flood survivors in the districts of Banke, Kailali and Jhapa, where ACT/LWF Nepal works in 30 Village Development Committees (VDCs). According to the preliminary assessment, 10 of these VDCs are heavily affected. Since the assessment is in progress, it is not yet possible to indicate the exact number of beneficiaries, but the number of people in need is significant, and it is estimated to be about 8,000 affected families (48,882 persons).

At the regional level, the ACT/LWF Nepal rapid assessment team has joined the OCHA assessment team. Due to the excessive water logging and bad weather conditions, it is difficult for the joint assessment team to reach many of the affected locations. However, ACT/LWF Nepal believes that a detailed assessment can be made before RRF implementation starts.

ACT/LWF Nepal plans to implement this RRF in coordination with the respective District Disaster Relief Committee (DDRC) of the Government of Nepal and the respective district chapter of the NRC. ACT/LWF Nepal will equally mobilize the main committees, Community Based Organisations and beneficiaries to ensure their participation in the implementation.

Proposed Assistance: ACT/LWF Nepal is proposing life savings support in the targeted VDCs and villages which includes distribution of food items, non-food items and plastic roofing sheets.

At the national level ACT/LWF Nepal is co-ordinating with the Government, the NRC, UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations. At the regional level, ACT/LWF Nepal is in close contact with all relevant organizations and participating in all coordination meetings and joint assessments initiated by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

In detail, the support will be reviewed based on a field assessment and in coordination with the DDRC (District Disaster Relief Committee) and NRC. Items and quantities will be determined in line with the guiding principles of Sphere. The composition of the planned assistance is as follows:

• Rice, pulses, vegetable oil and salt for 5,000 people for 15 days (approx. 1,000 families)

• Non-food items include: pots & pans, food serving plates, spoons, water glass, water, buckets, blankets and clothing for about 300 families

• Tarpaulin roofing sheet for about 550 families

Implementation Period: LWF Nepal plans to complete the RRF implementation within 75 days. Considering the present situation and the intensity of floods, LWF Nepal plans to initiate an appeal proposal on the basis of a detailed needs assessment during the course of the RRF implementation. The appeal proposal should include activities to enhance community resilience since the area is hit by flood disasters almost every year.

BUDGET: US$ 50,000

Exchange Rate: US$ 1 = 65 NPR

ACTION

The ACT Co-ordinating Office has approved the use of US$ 50,000 towards the budget from its Rapid Response Fund and would be grateful to receive contributions to wholly or partially replenish this payment.

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ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.