* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Alert
India
Kashmir faces devastating Floods and Landslide
Geneva, 8 September 2014
1. Brief description of the emergency and impact
Floods and landslides triggered by a week of heavy rain continued to batter Jammu and Kashmir. Death toll has climbed to 150 as homes, hospitals and a military base got inundated in the capital Srinagar. The state’s worst flooding in 60 years has submerged villages, ruined crops, snapped communication links and left thousands homeless. Armed forces stepped up rescue work on Sunday. The air force pressed more planes and helicopters into service. So far, 12,500 people have been taken to safety by the army, but a lot more are still stranded. It’s a very desperate situation for the stranded people, seeing the rising water level from the rooftop and hoping for early arrival of rescue teams.
Boats were still in short-supply to reach more than 300 villages that had been completely cut off. Central government has rushed in 150 boats and five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). The Indian Air Force has also joined the relief operation and carrying the relief items.
Though rains abated Saturday, flood waters rose sharply overnight in Srinagar after the Jhelum broke banks.Swirling waters also made the city’s commercial hub the Lal Chowk and nearby residential areas inaccessible. An army cantonment, a children’s hospital and Srinagar’s only maternity facility were also flooded. All vital roads, including the one leading to the airport, were under water. Standing crops like paddy and horticulture crops worth millions of dollars have been damaged due to the floods. The exact quantum of loss will be known only after the flood situation eases. The meteorological office has forecast more rains over the next 48 hours raising the possibility of more areas of Kashmir getting flooded.
2. Why is an ACT response needed?
CASA has been operational in the state for a long time. CASA also implemented full scale relief and rehabilitation programme after the earthquake in 2005. The state has also been suffering from conflict and political unrest for a long time. The current situation has exceeded the limits of the state to restore normalcy in the immediate future. This is why the state government has asked the humanitarian agencies to complement the government’s efforts.
3. National and international response
After assessing the flood situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday declared it a "national-level disaster" and announced a special assistance of Rs.1,000 crore (USD 16.5 million approx.) for the flood-hit state besides INR 200,000 (approx. USD 3,300) compensation from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund for the kin of the dead and INR 50,000 (approx USD 830)for those seriously injured. A massive collaborated rescue operation of the state and central governments is already underway, and the PM has also promised essential supplies, medicines and 100,000 blankets.
4. ACT Alliance response
ACT India Forum member, CASA, has sent out its team to make a preliminary assessment of the situation and also started making arrangements to provide the necessary relief support to the affected communities in Kashmir. Given the extensive devastation a long-term relief, recovery and rehabilitation is foreseen.
5. Planned activities
ACT India member, CASA, is doing a rapid assessment of the needs among the flood affected communities. CASA has already started its immediate relief operations using its own resources primarily to provide food rations and NFIs to the affected people and will also approach ACT Alliance for resource mobilization. CASA is in consultation with other ACT India forum members, while developing a preliminary appeal for the response.
6. Constraints
Logistics is going to be extremely challenging given the extensive damage to the road infrastructure. Water is still on the rise and the biggest challenge is to rescue all the stranded people and take them to safer places.
Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to Jean-Daniel Birmele, Director of Finance (jbi@actalliance.org)
