Nepal – IOM’s distribution of Corrugated Galvanized Iron (CGI) sheets in Barhabise Village Development Committee (VDC), Sindhupalchowk District, continues despite temporary road closures in Jurey due to a recent landslide caused by the monsoon rain.  

Jurey, which is only 10km away from Barhabise town, is an area where a massive landslide killed more than 156 people in August 2014.

“It was not possible for trucks to get in the Barhabise town for a couple of days because of the road closures,” said Yamanta Niroula, IOM Shelter Programme Engineer in charge of the distribution in Barhabise VDC.

“Still, we are more than half way through the distribution and as the blocked road is cleared now, we should be able to cover the remaining families within this week,” he added.

By the end of this week, 1,457 families living in nine wards of Barhabise VDC are expected to receive 20,398 CGI sheets worth over USD 200,000 funded by the Japanese government. IOM provides each family 14 CGI sheets to support reconstruction efforts and protect them from the monsoon.

Though IOM normally distributes relief items through 30 implementing partners which consist of international and local NGOs, this time the distribution was conducted directly by IOM.

“There are areas where the capable implementing partners are not available because of the remoteness of the place or the danger of hazards such as landslide or flood,” said Maria Moita, IOM Earthquake Response Team leader. “IOM conducts direct distribution in these areas because we know urgent needs are there,” she continued.

The biggest concern for the residents of Barhabise VDC is the possibility of another landslide. “There are a few ‘no dwell’ zones in Barhabise VDC due to their proneness to landslides. A little rain can cause mountains to collapse because they are already fragile due to the earthquakes and on-going aftershocks,” said Narayan Bhattarai, community leader for Ward 6 of Barhabise VDC. 

“The CGI sheets distributed by IOM are invaluable to our community because displaced people from the landslide-affected areas can now build temporary shelters in safer places,” he continued.

To prepare for the monsoon season, IOM has been procuring CGI sheets of a total value of USD 3M locally since mid-May, constituting a significant boost for the local economy. Distributions of IOM procured CGIs started in Gorkha on 7 June and have since expanded to Sindhupalchowk, Dhadhing, and Dolakha. 

“IOM partners in Gorkha have distributed 23,527 IOM-procured CGI sheets to 1,680 families in Gorkha District so far,” said Rex Alamban, head of IOM hub in Gorkha. “The distribution in Gorkha is ongoing and 5,600 CGI sheets were already dispatched to Dhadhing for distribution,” he added. IOM-procured CGI will be distributed in Dhadhing and Dolakha from this week. 

CGI sheets are popular in emergency situations due to its lightness, flexibility, durability, and reusable nature. According to the latest Displaced Tracking Matrix (DTM) report, the CGI sheets are the most required Non-Food Items (NFIs) among displaced population in Nepal. One in every three people assessed by IOM’s DTM team rated CGI sheets as their first priority.

To learn more about findings of the latest DTM report released on 15 June, please go to http://bit.ly/1ejka3H

To see more photos from the distribution, please go to http://bit.ly/1K6fxFX

For further information, please contact IOM Nepal: Maurizio Busatti, Tel. +977 98010 04510, Email: mbusatti@iom.int  or Eunjin Jeong, Tel: +977 980 100 53 22, Email: ejeong@iom.int or Joe Lowry at IOM’s Asia-Pacific Office in Bangkok, Tel. +668187 08081, Email: jlowry@iom.int