More than 60,000 victims of flooding in western Nepal urgently need food, water and basic shelter, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday.
Flooding and landslides caused by heavy monsoon rain had killed more than 50 people and displaced tens of thousands in western Nepal since Saturday, the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), the NGO most active in providing humanitarian relief and support to the victims, said.
This year's monsoon had been one of the heaviest on record, particularly in western Nepal, NRCS said. The amount of aid provided had not been anywhere near enough, it said.
“The situation is extremely worrisome and now we should have concrete help immediately,” Rishi Silwal, a senior NRCS official, said.
His greatest concern was for the remote villages of Achham District, a hilly area 700 km northwest of the capital, Kathmandu, which remained one of the worst affected of the 13 districts hit by flooding and landslides.
NRCS said more than 150 families affected by a landslide in Achham had been living in extremely dangerous conditions. The health situation, especially for women and children, had deteriorated. They were suffering from water-borne diseases due to a lack of medicines, food, shelter and proper clothing.
NRCS said although the government had managed to rescue a number of victims by helicopter, hundreds remained stranded in Debisthan, a remote village in Achham. It demanded that the government launch more rescue operations.
“All the roads are destroyed and now even the mules and humans cannot reach the remote villages with our food and medical supplies,” Silwal said.
NGOs in Nepalganj - a key city in western Nepal - were frustrated, saying that aid agencies and the government were not doing enough and had failed to make effective plans to help.
NRCS said that not a single camp had been built for displaced families, who were sheltering in public buildings.
“Even the bulk of the food is mostly supplied through local NGOs, the business community and ordinary citizens. The government’s food grains have not been able to reach most of those affected,” Pancharam Chaudhary, from the Backward Society Education (BASE) in Nepalganj, said.
NRCS said that only one fourth of the victims in Bardiya - another flood-hit district about 700 km west of Kathmandu - had been able to get food and medicines.
“It seems like many aid agencies are trying to help these victims, but none of them are offering any concrete help,” Chaudhary said.
There was a need for more coordination between aid agencies, the government and NGOs.
Chaudhary, whose organisation was planning to start a health camp for survivors, said food grains people had been saving for a year had been washed away.
OCHA said people were at risk because they were eating wet food grains from flooded areas. It said a health campaign had to be launched to promote the use of safe drinking water and the proper disposal of dead animals and wet grains.
NN/GS/AT/DS
Flooding and landslides caused by heavy monsoon rain had killed more than 50 people and displaced tens of thousands in western Nepal since Saturday, the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), the NGO most active in providing humanitarian relief and support to the victims, said.
This year's monsoon had been one of the heaviest on record, particularly in western Nepal, NRCS said. The amount of aid provided had not been anywhere near enough, it said.
“The situation is extremely worrisome and now we should have concrete help immediately,” Rishi Silwal, a senior NRCS official, said.
His greatest concern was for the remote villages of Achham District, a hilly area 700 km northwest of the capital, Kathmandu, which remained one of the worst affected of the 13 districts hit by flooding and landslides.
NRCS said more than 150 families affected by a landslide in Achham had been living in extremely dangerous conditions. The health situation, especially for women and children, had deteriorated. They were suffering from water-borne diseases due to a lack of medicines, food, shelter and proper clothing.
NRCS said although the government had managed to rescue a number of victims by helicopter, hundreds remained stranded in Debisthan, a remote village in Achham. It demanded that the government launch more rescue operations.
“All the roads are destroyed and now even the mules and humans cannot reach the remote villages with our food and medical supplies,” Silwal said.
NGOs in Nepalganj - a key city in western Nepal - were frustrated, saying that aid agencies and the government were not doing enough and had failed to make effective plans to help.
NRCS said that not a single camp had been built for displaced families, who were sheltering in public buildings.
“Even the bulk of the food is mostly supplied through local NGOs, the business community and ordinary citizens. The government’s food grains have not been able to reach most of those affected,” Pancharam Chaudhary, from the Backward Society Education (BASE) in Nepalganj, said.
NRCS said that only one fourth of the victims in Bardiya - another flood-hit district about 700 km west of Kathmandu - had been able to get food and medicines.
“It seems like many aid agencies are trying to help these victims, but none of them are offering any concrete help,” Chaudhary said.
There was a need for more coordination between aid agencies, the government and NGOs.
Chaudhary, whose organisation was planning to start a health camp for survivors, said food grains people had been saving for a year had been washed away.
OCHA said people were at risk because they were eating wet food grains from flooded areas. It said a health campaign had to be launched to promote the use of safe drinking water and the proper disposal of dead animals and wet grains.
NN/GS/AT/DS
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