A warehouse in Tikapur, constructed with the support from Nepal Flood Resilience Project in coordination with government and non-government stakeholders, worked well in the flood of 2017. The warehouse eased the relief collection, storage and distribution and made the process smooth, transparent, equitable and timely.
All agencies and individuals handed over relief items to the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) which was gathered in the warehouse. The NRCS then distributed the items to the needy people in coordination with local government, civil society organisations and other humanitarian organisations including Good Neighbor, Care Nepal and CEWIN Nepal. As of 21 August, 233 families have got relief supports such as tarpaulin, blankets, food materials, mosquito nets, school dress, stationery and hygiene kits.
In the similar events in the past, the humanitarian agencies used to move directly to flood affected areas and distribute relief materials which used to be very chaotic. But this year, the warehouse eased the relief distribution process. We coordinated with local leaders of affected communities and government representatives about the need and then the stockpiled relief materials were transported from the warehouse for distribution.
Jagdishwor, President of NRCS Tikapur Sub-Chapter.
On 12 and 13 August 2017, there were torrential rains which filled in all rivulets and drains within hours and caused unanticipated inundation across the villages and towns at Tikapur, Kailali. The initial assessment showed that 1,844 households have affected at different places by this flood.
Furthermore, the local government offices such as Tikapur Municipality and Area Police Office were inundated for two days. The flood level in the inundation areas varied from 1 to 4 feet deep. This flood also destructed public services such as transportation services which was obstructed for four days, power cut for a day, market closed for two days, telephone network disturbed for a day and it also affected drinking water supply system.
The warehouse was constructed at Tikapur-9, Kailali with multi-stakeholders’ collaboration. Mainly, it involved Area Administration Office-Tikapur, Area Police Office-Tikapur, Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) Tikapur Sub-Chapter, Tikapur Municipality and Nepal Flood Resilience Project. This is the only warehouse in Tikapur which has capacity to accommodate non-food relief item (NFRI) sets for 290 households.
The warehouse is situated at a strategic location from where NRCS can distribute the NFRI for all wards of Tikapur Municipality in case of any disasters happening there. The warehouse was constructed to enhance the capacity of local stakeholders to respond timely and efficiently to disaster affected families. It also has certain number of rescue equipment such as mattocks, shovels, safety helmets, buckets, life jackets, and crowbars to support rapid rescue. The NRCS has been leading its operational and management committee which comprise key contributors and local stakeholders as its committee members. The committee is governed by the guideline formulated for its operation and management.
This blog was first published in https://practicalaction.org/blog/news/campaigns/tikapur-warehouse-eases-relief-distribution-process/
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