Nepal Floods

Challenge

More than a month after the 26 August floods, Nepal's response has moved into a long recovery. Around 33,000 people have been affected in total, and roughly 7,500 homes have been damaged or destroyed across Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Dhading and Kathmandu.

Thousands of people are still displaced in government-run holding centres, where clean water and sanitation remain the most urgent need. Roads and bridges are still being rebuilt in the worst-hit areas, and people are still believed to be trapped in several hydropower project tunnels. The government now estimates recovery and reconstruction will cost close to US$4.8 billion, a rebuild that will run well beyond this year.

Solution

Our approach is simple: identify the gaps, bring in the right technology, and support the people already leading the response. In Nepal, that means working on three fronts at once.

• Tech coordination hubs for municipal government first responders, so the teams coordinating the aid effort across affected communities can properly coordinate everyone's efforts.
• Solar-powered lights for families living in tents on the road while their homes remain uninhabitable.
• Water tankers with filtration units, installed at schools hosting hundreds of evacuated families.

Each of these extends the reach of the local teams already leading the response, without adding another layer of complexity on the ground.

Impact

In the critical hours and weeks after a disaster, access to power, communications and reliable information makes a real difference, both to rescue efforts and to the people affected. A coordination hub that keeps responders talking to each other. A light that lets a family feel safe in a tent at night. Clean water at a school sheltering hundreds of people. These are the details that let local teams keep moving when every hour matters.

How you can help

For donors, companies and foundations looking to support Nepal, targeted investment can have immediate value. The right technology, placed in the right hands, helps responders reach more people and keep critical operations running.