Ambassador Peter W. Bodde welcomed the U.S. Disaster Assistance and Response
Team (DART) to Nepal today, April 28. The team is deployed to assist with
relief and recovery efforts in coordination with the Nepal Government, the
international community, and relief agencies, after the April 25 earthquake.
U.S. Government on-the-ground emergency relief and recovery will comprise of
nearly 130 members, also including Urban Search and Rescue Teams from Fairfax
and Los Angeles Counties, along with 45 square tons of cargo.
The U.S. Government is providing $10 million in humanitarian assistance to
relief agencies operational on the ground, deploying funds to address immediate
humanitarian needs in affected districts across Nepal. USAID is conducting a
variety of other disaster risk reduction activities, including:
Earthquake Management Information and Assessments: USAID’s
Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance’s partner organization, National
Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal (NSET), is providing critical earthquake
management information through various media outlets. NSET’s intensity and
inundation mapping tools with population data overlays will provide critical
information for the recovery and humanitarian efforts underway. In addition,
NSET is responding to the Government of Nepal’s (GON) request for infrastructure
assessments and has already completed a number of assessments focused on roads,
electricity sub-stations, and hospitals.
Non-food Relief Items: USAID/OFDA’s partner organization,
the Nepal Red Cross Society, is currently distributing USAID/OFDA prepositioned
Non-food Relief Items (NFRIs) to 3,000 families in earthquake-affected districts
– Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Sindhupalchowk, Syangja, and Rasuwa. The
NFRIs include items such as blankets, clothes, kitchen utensils, buckets, and
ropes. Supplies are also reaching the 16 internally displaced person (IDP)
camps that have been set up in the Kathmandu valley.
USAID’s Suaahara Project: The USAID Integrated Health and
Nutrition Project or Suaahara, operating in six of the 11 most affected
districts – Lamjung, Dolakha, Gorkha, Rasuwa, Sinhupalchok, and Nuwakot – is
participating in district-level disaster response meetings and providing support
accordingly. To date they have met district level requests for water, ready to
eat foods, tents, blankets, and basic medical supplies.
USAID’s Hariyo Ban Project: Operating in four of the 11
most affected districts – Lamjung, Gorkha, Rasuwa, and Dhading – Hariyo Ban is
participating in district-level disaster response meetings and planning to
provide $50,000 worth of immediate rescue and relief items that may include:
tents/tarpaulins, water, food, medications, and feminine products.
The best way to help those affected is to make a monetary donation to a
reputable humanitarian organization working in the disaster zone.
Non-governmental organizations listed here have issued appeals for donations:
http://www.usaid.gov/nepal-earthquake