Engineering Assessment to Determine Mansoon Induced Risk at Displacement Sites
Client
People in Need (PIN)
Project Period
May 2017 to August 2017
Project Area
Gorkha, Dhading, Sindhupalchowk and Nuwakot
The earthquakes in April and May 2015 caused 8000 fatalities and 60,000 injuries and left millions of people homeless damaging more than 600,000 houses. A lot of homeless people have been displaced from their original settlement due to geo-hazards like landslides, erosions and debris flows, and have moved to new temporary sites. Despite relocating, a lot of these displaced people are in danger because their temporary sites are under ongoing threat, especially during the monsoon.
Key activities
People in Need (PIN) and OXFAM in consortium have been working with the earthquake-affected people, and planned a project which aimed to benefit the people living in these temporary displaced sites by minimizing the effects of these geo-hazards. A list of the temporary sites which were at high risk due to the monsoon induced risks was prepared among which a total of 16 displacement sites in Gorkha, Dhading, Sindhupalchowk, and Nuwakot districts were prioritized for evaluation based on the severity of hazards. The consortium then assigned SW Nepal to assess these displacement sites.
Services provided by SW Nepal
In June 2017, a team from SW Nepal visited to the pre identified displaced sites and conducted an engineering assessment of all these 16 sites and prepared site assessment reports. Based on these reports, the team from the firm identified the five displacement sites in Kerauja VDC, Gorkha to be the most vulnerable to the geo hazard and SW Nepal was assigned to continue with the engineering design and implementation of disaster risk reduction works in Kerauja.
SW Nepal then prepared design for the short term mitigation measures to minimize the monsoon induced risks. Additionally, health and safety provisions like distribution of piyush for water treatment and providing health and safety trainings were also recommended. In two of the settlements, new foot trails including upgrading of current trails inside the villages were proposed to ease the transportation within the village.
Later in August 2017, another team from SW Nepal started the implementation of the mitigation works based on the previously conducted assessment. The mitigation works included further assessment depending on the change in site conditions, construction of gabion boxes and dry walls and bioengineering works and recommendations for long term safety of the five displacement sites.
Outcome
After the completion of the geo-hazard mitigation works, the immediate dangers to the five displacement sites due to monsoon induced risks were minimized and an optimum level of disaster risk reduction was achieved.