We work in a geography that is prone to earthquakes, landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, etc. The cloud bursts and flash floods in June 2013 completely inundated settlements alongside riverbanks, destroyed home and shattered thousands of lives. The Government of Uttarakhand’s institutional capacity to manage the disaster was particularly challenged with the preceding large-scale flooding in 2012 and 2013. Furthermore, the affected districts were not exposed to this kind of heavy rains and flash floods of epic proportions. The people were caught off-guard. The local populations, as well as local and state government machinery, were not prepared for such a level of disaster and that too in a difficult mountainous terrain.
Our Society has been instrumental in providing quick response to those affected by disaster. We distributed relief materials, including dry food, drinking water, basic supplies, etc. We also facilitated access to safe shelters and medical assistance. We have also been constructing toilets for individual households with damaged or no toilets.We also conduct capacity building of volunteers, SHGs, community leaders and disaster teams for relief work. We train communities in disaster preparedness.