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Oxfam launches Nepal flood response in worst-hit Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, as destroyed roads and swept-away bridges block relief efforts

Oxfam has launched an emergency response in Rasuwa and Nuwakot, the districts worst affected by last Wednesday’s flash flood, as roads and bridges swept away by the surge have left entire communities almost impossible to reach.

Oxfam Aotearoa Executive Director, Jason Myers, said “New Zealand and Nepal share a special bond, built through generations of friendship, travel and the many Nepali families who have made Aotearoa their home. So, when disaster strikes Nepal, it resonates deeply with people here in New Zealand.”

On Wednesday 26 August, a landslide and glacial event around 20km north of the Rasuwagadhi checkpoint blocked the Lhende Khola, triggering a major flash flood. At least 1,000 people have been killed and thousands more are missing across Nepal and Tibet. The surge then swept into the Trishuli River via Timure, Syaprubesi and Bhairabkunda, leaving families along the riverbanks of Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan, in peril.

“Entire neighbourhoods are under mud and rescue teams are still digging. The water rose nine metres in half an hour. What we are seeing so far is only what we can reach,” said Santosh Pandey, Oxfam Humanitarian Lead in Nepal.

The collapse of roads, bridges, and communications has severely hampered relief efforts. The Government of Nepal’s has asked for 30 temporary bridges of 50 to 70 metres each, alongside food, shelter and water purification supplies. For now, reaching the hardest-hit communities depends almost entirely on-air access.

“The rivers are full of debris and sewage, and there is no piped supply left to fall back on. Getting clean water and safe sanitation to most affected people into these valleys is the priority now,” added Pandey.

Immediate humanitarian priorities remain concentrated around search and rescue, emergency shelter food, clean water, and hygiene items, particularly in the heavily affected and hard-to-reach areas of Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading. The Government of Nepal estimates that 8,692 households – nearly 40,000 people – require emergency hygiene support and water purification, in addition to 3,130 dignity kits and nearly 4,000 baby kits for children under five.

As well as responding to the current humanitarian crisis, Oxfam is working with communities in Nepal to improve early warning systems that will save lives in future flooding events. Oxfam Aotearoa’s Advocacy and Policy Lead, Nick Henry, said “Climate change is increasing the risk of similar disasters as glaciers become more unstable and prone to collapse. Experts warn the danger of glacier collapse in the Himalayas could triple by the end of this century at the current rate of climate pollution.”

Oxfam, working with its partners and in close coordination with local authorities, is immediately supplying emergency hygiene kits, incorporating water purification solutions, for 200 households in the hardest-hit Rasuwa district. But Oxfam urgently needs $2 million NZD to scale up its response and reach 10,000 people with temporary shelter, clean water, and sanitation and hygiene kits.

Oxfam Aotearoa has launched an emergency appeal for funding to contribute to this humanitarian response. Myers said, “Oxfam is working with community partners in Nepal to provide families with clean water, hygiene supplies and other essential support following the devastating flash floods. We’re asking New Zealanders to stand with our friends in Nepal and give what they can to help families through this emergency.”

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Notes to editors

  • Oxfam has worked in Nepal since the 1980s, alongside communities and local partners to tackle inequality and deliver humanitarian and development programmes. Oxfam in Nepal works across three connected areas: climate and water, gender justice, and humanitarian response and disaster risk management.

  • Oxfam is working closely with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), the Social Welfare Council and District Administration Offices to deliver relief materials to affected communities.

Contact information:

Spokespeople in Nepal and New Zealand are available. To arrange interviews please contact: [email protected]

Oxfam and partners mounting a humanitarian response to help people affected by cyclone in Malawi and Mozambique

More than 80 people including women and children have been killed in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar, and millions more urgently need clean water, shelter and food following Cyclone Freddy – the longest and strongest tropical storm on record in the Southern hemisphere – which has damaged thousands of homes, roads, and telecommunication infrastructures.  

Oxfam and partners are currently assessing the scale of devastation in order to mount a humanitarian response to provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, as well as emergency cash and food.  

“This is a double tragedy for the people of Malawi and Mozambique as this is happening at the time when the two countries are already battered by a cholera outbreak,” said Dailes Judge, Oxfam in Southern Africa Programme Director.  

Among the hardest hit areas are Quelimane district in Zambezia Province in Mozambique, and Blantyre City, Chikwawa, Thyolo, Phalombe and Nsanje districts in Malawi.  Collapsing infrastructure particularly in the remotest areas is slowing relief efforts. Oxfam is working in close cooperation with both governments. 

Cyclone Freddy made its first landfall on the eastern coast of Madagascar on February 21, 2023, and proceeded to hit Mozambique.  The climate crisis has made extreme weather including cyclones more severe and prolonged.

“The people that contribute the least drivers of climate change are once again paying the steepest price to climate change, including their own lives”, said Lynn Chiripamberi, Oxfam in Southern Africa Humanitarian Programme Lead.  

“A comprehensive humanitarian response is urgently needed to ensure those most impacted get immediate shelter, water and food. Equally important is for rich polluting nations to pay for the climate loss and damage of these countries,” added Judge.

Cox’s Bazar camp fire: Oxfam responding with food and shelter

A fire that swept through Rohingya refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Sunday has left 12,000 people homeless and in urgent need of shelter, water, sanitation, and medical services. Oxfam is mounting a response to provide immediate food and shelter to impacted people.  

“In a matter of hours, thousands of bamboo and tarpaulin shelters were destroyed along with few primary health centres, local schools, and community spaces. Thousands of families were forced to spend the night under the open sky, many without any food or water,” said Ashish Damle, Oxfam Country Director in Bangladesh.

The fire started on Sunday afternoon around 2:45 pm local time (9:45 PM NZST) in camp 11 and quickly spread to adjacent camps. While no casualties were reported, the full extent of the damage is being assessed.

“This is the second major fire that hit Rohingya camps since 2021. It took years of relief efforts to bring a semblance of normalcy to the lives of people after the first fire. To the Rohingya refugees this is a déjà vu of loss and suffering,” added Damle.  

Oxfam team is working closely with partners on the ground, assessing people’s needs; and preparing to provide most affected people with immediate food, shelter, water, and sanitation.  

Oxfam International is collaborating with community leaders, local authorities, and other partners on the ground to conduct long-term needs assessments for those affected.  

Türkiye aid dwindling in spite of dire conditions

One month on from the earthquakes that struck Türkiye killing over 45,000 people and destroying hundreds of thousands of buildings and major infrastructure, aid and donations for survivors has sharply declined in spite of continuing urgent needs.

Hundreds of thousands of families are residing in informal settlements to stay close to homes that have been destroyed, where there is little to no access to water and basic sanitation, shelter, and food. Women and children are affected disproportionately, with many fearing for their safety. Oxfam spoke with one woman who delivered a baby in a tent and had not received any medical support 10 days after giving birth.

In an area with a population of 15.2 million, almost 2 million people have evacuated from earthquake affected areas with government support or through their own means, straining the local economy and available safe housing across the country. Those who remain have no recourse but to stay outside, fearing returning indoors due to continuing aftershocks that continue to damage homes and infrastructure. The areas affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye include a large Syrian refugee population, who have already endured displacement.

Oxfam in Türkiye is coordinating with a network of grassroots women’s organisations and cooperatives, volunteers, civil society actors, and public authorities to rapidly provide food, clean water, showers, hygiene products, and blankets, and to facilitate setting up shelters. With Oxfam, women’s cooperatives are operating community kitchens and providing food to people everyday. Oxfam is also initiating the repair of water reservoirs to ensure access to clean water and setting up of toilets and showers.

In the coming months, Oxfam intends to support 1.4 million people living in the areas most affected by the earthquake by providing access to food, restoring water systems, and supporting people’s livelihoods through training and financial support.