6 days ago
Nepal Red Cross Leads Relief After Devastating Flash Floods
Flash floods badly damaged several areas of Nepal.
Many people lost their homes, belongings, and family members.
The Nepal Red Cross brought food, water, blankets, mats, and temporary shelter supplies.
Workers helped move more than 2,000 people to safer places in Nuwakot.
More than 1,000 volunteers joined rescue and relief work in four districts.
Some mothers were separated from their children and asked for help finding them.
The Red Cross also helped families contact missing relatives.
It says rebuilding homes, schools, hospitals, and livelihoods will take a long time.
Nepal Red Cross chairperson Bishal Kumar Bhandari reached Nuwakot three hours after the flash floods.
More than 2,000 rescued and evacuated people received assistance in Nuwakot during the first two days.
Over 1,000 volunteers were mobilized across Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Dhading, and Chitwan districts.
By 30 August, the Red Cross had provided thousands of hygiene kits, mattresses, tarpaulins, and blankets.
The organization is planning relief for 45–60 days, recovery for three to six months, and reconstruction for nearly two years.
- Who
- The Nepal Red Cross Society, chairperson Bishal Kumar Bhandari, volunteers, Nepal government officials, and the Army responded to the disaster.
- What
- Flash floods caused widespread destruction, displaced residents, separated families, and prompted rescue, relief, and recovery operations.
- Where
- The floods affected Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Dhading, and Chitwan districts, with Nuwakot and Rasuwa among the areas described in detail.
- When
- Bhandari arrived three hours after the floods; relief supplies provided by the Red Cross were reported through 30 August.
- Why
- Relief operations were launched to rescue stranded people, support evacuated residents, recover bodies, locate missing people, and begin longer-term recovery.
Key facts
- Initial response
- Bishal Kumar Bhandari and Nepal Red Cross responders left Kathmandu about one hour after learning of the floods.
- People assisted
- More than 2,000 rescued and evacuated people were attended to in Nuwakot during the first two days.
- Volunteers
- More than 1,000 volunteers were mobilized across the country.
- Relief supplies
- By 30 August, the Red Cross had distributed over 6,000 hygiene kits, 2,000 mattresses, 2,000 tarpaulins, and 2,000 blankets.
- International assistance
- The International Federation of Red Cross sent 1 million Swiss francs in assistance.
- Public appeal
- The Nepal Red Cross appealed for an additional 25 million for relief and recovery work.
- Recovery timeline
- Plans cover 45–60 days of relief, three to six months of recovery, and almost two years of reconstruction.
Quotes
Bishal Kumar Bhandari
Chairperson of the Nepal Red Cross Society and a flood-response volunteer
“I met mothers in Nuwakot who were desperate to reach their children – they were stranded on the other side of the Trishuli River. They kept asking me, ‘My children are alone. Can you somehow get us there? But I had no way to get them to their children. I didn’t know what to say.”
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“It was like the world had paused for them – the people; their faces were vacant. The area was quiet, completely covered in mud. No one knew what to do or how to even begin rescuing people.”
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