Kailali flood response: TTX, Dec 2018

Dr. Albrecht Beck from Prepared International (PPI) and me were supporting in December 2018 with a TTX the implementation of the newly endorsed “Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act“ as it will be a game changer for Disaster Management in Nepal in many ways. The implementation of ACT (Assessment and Coordination Teams) to assist the District Emergency Operations Centre’s (DEOC) in gathering data and conduct IRA (Initial Rapid Assessment) brings for example a better operational picture for decision making and response. To test and train the capacity of the ACT as well as the coordination and information flow among the different structures and levels of Governance a simulation exercise was implemented by PPI.

We, Dr. Albrecht Beck, Director, and Josef H. Riener, MSc, as implementing partner conducted the exercise in Dhangadhi, in Far-western Nepal for the Red Cross Consortium. It involved two different districts, the region and the national level (NEOC). A high amount of participants and observers from Red Cross, Government, Police and Armed Police, Nepal Army, UN agencies, NGOs and private sector were fighting hand in hand against a simulated flood disaster. PPI will, based on the experience of the exercise and in close cooperation with Nepali counter-parts, identify the way forward for the disaster management system. DG ECHO financed the project of several Red Cross Societies (Nepal, Denmark, Finland, UK and the IFRC).