Written by Gladwin Bol
On Sunday 16th June as incessant rains lashed the hills causing landslide in the higher reaches and sweeping away several roads and bridges in Uttarkashi, Rudrapayag, Chamoli districts leading to massive loss of life and property. Both Mandakini and Alaknanda, major tributaries of the Ganga, were flowing over the danger mark and the bridge connecting Rudraprayag and Gaurikund has been washed away leading villages isolated from the life source.
Briefing on the current situation in the flood-hit area, State Government mentioned the number of affected villages and the current relief work status as well as the measures undertaken to maintain public health.
A total of 1,350 people have been evacuated while over 3,500 remain untraced in flood-hit Uttarakhand even as a United Nations (UN) agency estimated that the number of missing could be over 11,000.
Out of the total 22,000 villages in the state, 4200 have been affected. Out of them, 2,865 have been connected so far while the rest 1,335 are yet to be connected. About 737 are still not ready for traffic.
The purpose of ADRA’s Emergency Management Sector is to facilitate working with communities to, meet their basic needs after an emergency and assist them to recover from the event. This means that reducing the risk a disaster poses; mitigating the impact of it on communities and building the resilience of communities are recognized as key aspects of priority in ADRA’s emergency management strategy.
Area survey and collection of information from the affected communities in the first Rapid Assessment was done by ADRA India’s Emergency Response team.
Detailed needs assessments were carried out on 20 affected villages of Augustmuni and Ukhimath blocks (In Rudraprayag District).
Interviews were done using Key informant Interview, Focused Group Discussions (FGDs), Case studies, individuals were directed to affected households with District Magistrates and Block Administration officials of Augustmuni and Ukhimath blocks and representatives of the State AIG and Other International NGO’s findings.
Rudraprayag District was the main point of coordination and assessment as it had hardly been targeted by any agencies as yet. As such, after this rapid assessment, ADRA India will implement an initial response with NFI. ADRA India would intervene the worsted affected area of the Rudroprayag district Under Augustmuni and Ukhimath block. There were 20 villages along the river side were worse hit,
ADRA India’s Intervene Villages:
Bedubagar, Chandrapuri I, Chandrapuri II, Bhiri, Butola, Gaon,Ginwala,Hat,Gabni,Silli,Banyari,Augustamani, Vijaynagar,Bagar,Jawaharnagar,Ganganagar, SauriTilwara, Sumari,Rampur and Chaka.
The coordinated response will be done with support from the District headquarters and the Agustamani block office. They will assist the team with logistics and also mobilize community. Block office building will be used for immediate storage and distribution.