36 people lost their lives when mud poured over houses and fields in Humla and Kalikot districts. Mission East provides emergency aid to 400 affected families.
The rain poured down in torrential amounts in the mountains of Nepal in the first two weeks of October. Until 20 October, 36 deaths, including five children, 23 injured and 20 missing, had been recorded. The monsoon rains were extra heavy for 10 days, sweeping torrents of water and mud over houses, roads, wells and irrigation canals, cutting off all electricity and internet connection.
In Humla, 155 households are affected, of which 50 are in Sarkegad. In Kalikot, as many as 1,325 houses have been affected, of which 550 houses in Palata have been completely or partially damaged. Over 1,000 people have been displaced by landslides. In Palata alone, 6 villages require immediate evacuation.
Losses and damage to property and crops are extremely high. Mudslides have washed away crops, vegetables and even livestock. In most affected areas, the population is very poor and is therefore in urgent need of help.
Mission East provides emergency relief to 400 affected families in the two districts, 2,400 people in total. The aid consists of food and temporary shelter, as well as clothes, kitchen utensils, psychological first aid and cash assistance. The help is provided in collaboration with local authorities and is coordinated with the local Red Cross branch.
– It is our duty to step in with help. While at home we are considering whether we should pay a CO2 tax of DKK 13 per flight, poor populations in Nepal’s mountainous regions are feeling climate change first hand. It is now that we have to wake up and react if we are to have any hope of mitigating climate disasters and at the same time help the people who are affected the most, says Mission East’s Managing Director Betina Gollander-Jensen.
Mission East has been working with disaster relief and prevention in Nepal since 2007 and is particularly concentrating its efforts in the poor and mountainous Karnali region, where the Kalikot and Humla districts are located.
