Nepal: The Disaster Response

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This past Saturday, April 25th, a 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal that has led to over 4,600 deaths and 9,000 injured people (CNN, 2015). A disaster this large in size with so many people injured requires a significant international response to provide needed supplies and care. Countless buildings and homes have been destroyed, people have have lost their families and are in dire need of food, shelter, and medical care.  The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has assisted by deploying a search and rescue team to Nepal, along with a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to identify and prioritize needs (The White House, 2015). Humanitarian organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross have also responded to the incident to provide care to those affected by the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks (The White House, 2015).

Recent priorities since the earthquake hit have included search and rescue operations to find survivors and relief efforts (CNN, 2015). Even with the help that has arrived through international aid, however, there have been significant barriers preventing the provision of adequate medical care. Hospitals in Nepal have been overwhelmed and lack needed medical supplies, survivors remain buried in building wreckage, and rural areas are not easily accessed by rescuers (CNN, 2015). One hospital is operating at over 3 times its normal capacity with over 1,000 patients (CNN, 2015). Difficult terrain creates difficulty for surface transport to more rural villages in Nepal, while storm weather conditions preclude access via helicopters (CNN, 2015). However these villages are seeing serious damage. One village in particular saw about 70% of homes destroyed with trapped people inside, especially children and the elderly (CNN, 2015). Another cited barrier has involved the small Kathmandu airport becoming jammed with incoming aid workers, which prevents the ability of all needed aid and supplies to enter the country (CNN, 2015). The supplies highly prioritized currently are food, which approximately 1.4 million people need, and tents to withstand monsoon weather (CNN, 2015).

I believe that there are some aspects of a disaster response such as this that are difficult to control for. Earthquakes are unpredictable and as such are difficult to plan relief for as the size and magnitude cannot be know beforehand. However, in 2009 the Nepal government launched a Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium, which raised awareness of the imminence of a large disaster in addition to retrofitting hospitals to withstand an earthquake (United Nations, 2015). This act has potentially saved many lives in this earthquake as the hospitals are still standing and able to treat patients. The United Nations also plans to assist Nepal in reconstructing the country to be more resilient to disasters (United Nations, 2015). Hopefully other countries will learn from this event to strengthen their own disaster preparation.

References:

Asia News. (2012). For World Bank, Nepal is Asia’s third poorest country. Retrieved from: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/For-World-Bank,-Nepal%27s-is-Asia%27s-third-poorest-country-24668.html.

CNN. (2015). Nepal earthquake: Death toll passes 4,600 as rescuers face challenges. Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/28/asia/nepal-earthquake/index.html.

The White House. (2015). America’s response to the earthquake in Nepal: What we can do to help. Retrieved from: https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/04/27/america-s-response-earthquake-nepal-what-we-can-do-help.

United Nations. (2015). UN allocated $15 million in emergency funds for Nepal earthquake response. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50708#.VUAfI5Ozl2A.