CHF 172,477 was allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) in December 2012 to support the Kyrgyz Red Crescent Society in delivering immediate assistance to some 1,000 families (approximately 4,000 beneficiaries).
From December 2012 to February 2013, Kyrgyzstan was experiencing an unusually cold winter with heavy snowfalls and extremely low temperatures. According to the data obtained from the National Hydro-Meteorological Service of Kyrgyzstan, the temperatures were the lowest for the last 76 years (since 1936). In the northern part of the country, the temperatures reached minus 30-35 degrees Celsius. Due to power cuts, the number of households without access to electricity varied between a few hundred and a few thousand. The power failure affected badly the people’s living conditions and livelihoods.
On 18th December 2012 a state of emergency was declared in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital city. The Kyrgyz Red Crescent`s (KRC) National Disaster Response Team (NDRT) members visited the affected districts, conducted a rapid assessment, and met with the population and the authorities, including representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MoES) and the local administrations of the affected districts.
On 15th January 2013 the Kyrgyz Red Crescent started, in coordination with the local authorities, the distribution of relief items. By the closure of the operation 1,454 families were assisted with items such as blankets, thermos flasks, torches and food parcels. The planned number of vulnerable people was reached. However, the number of families exceeded the planned number. Four persons per family (the average family size in Bishkek city) had been calculated in the initial plan. It turned out, however, that most families that needed assistance consisted of elderly people living alone, or they were small families with just two people.
