NZ contributes to UN assistance in Nepal floods
Civil DefenceNew Zealand has been asked to contribute a staff member to a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Co-ordination (UNDAC) team responding to extensive flooding in Nepal.
UNDAC teams respond to disasters by deploying into affected countries to support the national government and co-ordinate the international response.
Civil Defence Minister Rick Barker said the UNDAC request was received yesterday and New Zealand Fire Service National Manager Special Operations, Jim Stuart-Black, flies out at 3.30pm today to join a five-person team of emergency management experts from Russia, India, Holland, and the UN.
Tomorrow morning the UNDAC team will be meeting the Nepalese government and the UN’s resident co-ordinator in Nepal to begin planning the international assistance that will support the government’s response.
Flooding began on August 18 when the Koshi River in South Eastern Nepal breached embankments. It has not abated and water is still metres deep. The Nepalese government estimates that some 70,000 people in the Sunsari and Saptari Districts have been affected and has now asked for international assistance.
Further information about the flooding is available on the UN’s website, “reliefweb”
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/PANA-7HVGBP?OpenDocument