Nepal Earthquake - South African Red Cross Society

Key Messages &
Talking Points
Nepal Earthquake
28 April 2015
All communication materials are updated regularly on FedNet: http://fednet.ifrc.org/nepaleq
Background
On 25 April 2015, the lives of hundreds of thousands in Nepal were transformed by one of the worst
earthquakes the country had experienced since 1934. The magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck with a depth of 15
kilometres near the capital city of Kathmandu, with the epicentre located 81 kilometres northwest of
Kathmandu and 68 kilometres east from Pokhara (the country’s two largest cities), near Lamjung in the
Gorkha district.
The earthquake - felt as far as Lahore in Pakistan, Lhasa in Tibet and in Dhaka, Bangladesh – left significant
damage to buildings, roads and infrastructure. As of 27 April, in Nepal nearly 4,000 people have died, more
than 7,000 are injured, 200 are missing and over 5 million people are affected according to ACAPS. More than
500,000 families are displaced, more than 35,000 homes are fully damaged. Tragically, among the deceased
are a staff member and two volunteers from the Nepal Red Cross, who were killed during a blood donation
drive.
In India, more than 60 people were killed in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, with nearly 300 people
injured. In Bangladesh 5 people have died and 100 are reportedly injured. In Tibet, the death toll from the
quake rose to 25 with 117 injured according to authorities on 27 April. More than 20,000 have been displaced
and more than 10,000 homes and 54 monasteries have been damaged.
Numerous aftershocks ranging from magnitude 5.5 to 6.6 continue to rattle the area, causing further damage
to buildings and forcing many of the affected population to take shelter in tents and on the streets outside their
homes. Electricity and telephone connectivity remains intermittent and mobile services are experiencing heavy
congestion, while the number of injured people is exceeding hospital capacities. Both private and government
hospitals have no choice but to treat their patients out on the streets.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) launched a preliminary
emergency appeal on Monday 27 April 2015 for the amount of 33.5 million Swiss francs. The appeal will
allow the Nepal Red Cross Society deliver critical life-saving assistance to earthquake survivors in Nepal
including emergency shelter and basic household items, emergency health and care, livelihoods support,
dignified burials and restoring family links services to communities affected by the earthquake.
Facts and figures






4000+ dead
7000 injured
200 missing
5 million affected
More than 500,000 displaced
35,000 homes damaged
Source: ACAPS available here http://www.acaps.org/en/pages/what-is-acaps
Key messages
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
2 I Key Messages and talking points / Nepal Earthquake / 28 April 2015

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are mobilizing our global resources to
assist affected population, working alongside and in support of Nepal Red Cross Society.More than
1,500 volunteers and 300 staff of the Nepal Red Cross Society continue to work around the clock in
extending first aid, transporting the wounded to hospitals, supporting search and rescue efforts, and
providing temporary shelter to those affected. These humanitarian services are being implemented in
coordination and cooperation with the Government of Nepal, communities, UN agencies, and
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement partners.

The humanitarian situation remains extremely serious. Although some roads from the capital,
Porkhara and Gorkha are reportedly accessible, many areas remain difficult to access and as a result,
the full picture is still unclear. Electricity in Katmandu has been partially restored, and
telecommunication networks are intermittently operating. Large numbers of people are still staying in
open space and water a sanitation remain a major concern.

Understanding that people suffer terribly when they lose contact with their loved ones and don't know
where they are or whether they are safe, the Nepal Red Cross Society, supported by the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), is maintaining a website in English and
Nepali to restore contact between those who have been separated. People who are looking for
someone or who would like to inform that they are safe can register their details at:
http://familylinks.icrc.org/nepal-earthquake. The website is continuously updated as soon as
information is verified.
Red Cross Red Crescent response

The Nepal Red Cross Society has been responding from the onset of the disaster. More than 1,500
Red Cross volunteers and 300 staff have been working relentlessly, supporting search and rescue
efforts, providing first aid and psychosocial support, carrying out assessments, and assisting at
evacuation centres and on the streets, distributing oral rehydration salts, aqua tabs, and tarpaulins.
Before the earthquake, the Red Cross had approximately 19,000 relief kits pre-positioned in Nepal.
These supplies will help drive the initial response, but more support will be needed.

In addition to supporting search and rescue and relief efforts in Kathmandu, Red Cross teams are
working with authorities to reach towns and villages closer to the epicentre of the quake (between
Kathmandu and Pokhara), and across the more than 30 districts affected – including many
remote villages and communities.

We estimate that IFRC actions are currently reaching more than 10,000 people directly affected by the
earthquake with relief items and first aid assistance.

The IFRC is mobilizing a massive response to support the Nepal Red Cross Society and the people
affected by this disaster. We have activated our disaster response systems in Kuala Lumpur and
Nepal. We have relief supplies, sufficient for approximately 50,000 families, pre-positioned throughout
Asia Pacific.

On Saturday, the day of the earthquake, the IFRC released 500,000 Swiss francs from our
Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support initial response efforts and assessments.

The IFRC has deployed a Field Assessment and Coordination Team (FACT) to lead
assessments and support the Nepal Red Cross to direct the first waves of international
assistance. This team is already on the ground or is en route. 15 helicopters are available (supported
by Airbus) for assessments.

The IFRC is charting three planes laden with supplies. The first, carrying shelter tool kits, jerry cans,
tarpaulins, kitchen sets, hygiene kits and blankets for 200 families, is expected to fly from Kuala
Lumpur on Wednesday.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
3 I Key Messages and talking points / Nepal Earthquake / 28 April 2015

In coordination with our members around the world, we are also deploying seven Emergency
Response Units (more may follow) to be operational this week. These include:
o
o
o
o
o
A rapid deployment hospital (Norwegian Red Cross)
Two basic health care units (Philippine Red Cross/Canadian Red Cross and Japanese Red
Cross). The advance team for the first unit is deploying today, the other during the week.
An emergency relief unit (Danish Red Cross/American Red Cross)
Two logistic units (Swiss Red Cross and Finnish Red Cross/Danish Red Cross)
An IT unit that includes VSAT (satellite connectivity) (New Zealand Red Cross/American Red
Cross)

Regional disaster response teams from South Asia, South East Asia and East Asia have also been
deployed and will be arriving in Kathmandu when possible.

The IFRC is cooperating closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to ensure
support to the Nepal Red Cross Society in the key areas of restoring family links (RFL) and dignified
dead body management.

As part of the needs assessment teams organized by the IFRC, the ICRC has sent a forensic expert
and a restoring family links expert to Nepal. The ICRC also provided a set of dressing modules to two
hospitals in Kathmandu which is sufficient to treat approximately 300 injured people.

On Monday 27 April, 700 body bags were given by the ICRC Delhi to the IRCS for dispatch to
Kathmandu; another two hundred body bags have been handed over to the Department of Forensics
Medicine, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.

In support of the strong coordination efforts of the Government of Nepal and the international
humanitarian system – the IFRC and NRCS will lead cluster coordination for the Shelter and
Settlements sector.

The Red Cross is also monitoring and assessing humanitarian needs resulting from the impact of the
earthquakes in neighboring countries including in India and Tibet.The Red Cross Society of China has
delivered 2,000 tents to those affected by the earthquake in Tibet, and additional relief items such as
quilts, warm clothing and blankets are expected in the coming days.
Social media
Since the Nepal earthquake struck, millions of individuals around the world including humanitarian
organizations, media, and government representatives are engaging in conversations on social media.
As a global Movement, the Red Cross Red Crescent has an opportunity to take part in this global conversation
and reach millions of people with effective messaging that can support awareness raising and fundraising
efforts. We need to ensure consistency in our communication messages, speaking with one voice and one
Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement across our different communication channels and languages. To
manage this, we encourage you to:

Use the hashtag #NepalQuake in all your tweets and social media posts
(Spanish: #TerremotoNepal).

Remember to also hashtag the word #Nepal if you are including the word in your tweet / post. This will
enable our messages to be included in the ongoing conversations on the topic globally. This is the
standard hashtag being promoted by other reputable sources present on the ground (e.g. UN, OCHA,
Save the Children, WFP, CNN). If you are tweeting in other languages, it is recommended that you
also use the English hashtag where possible.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
4 I Key Messages and talking points / Nepal Earthquake / 28 April 2015

In order to track and monitor the exposure or coverage of the Movement’s messages and
conversations on social media, we encourage you to include the
hashtag #RedCross or #RedCrescent in your messages/ posts.
Talking points
Q. What are the main needs right now?
Talking point: More than 72 hours after the earthquake, the focus remains on continuing to work with
everyone on the search-and-rescue efforts, as well as providing first aid and tarpaulins as a measure of
shelter. We are extremely concerned for all of those affected, particularly in rural areas that are hard to reach.
Q. What are the main challenges right now?
Talking point: With 30 districts affected, currently it is difficult to access many areas where people are in
need of help. We are extremely concerned about these communities. Time is critical and while we conduct
search-and-rescue alongside everyone else in Kathmandu, we also have Red Cross teams working with
authorities to reach villages that are closer to the epicenter of the quake.
Q. What will the appeal be used for?
Talking point: The appeal will allow the Red Cross to support 75,000 people through the coming days and
months with emergency shelter and health care. It will also help the Red Cross provide dignified burials and
restore family links for those separated from their loved ones. This appeal is preliminary and reflects the
situation as we understand it now, based on the information available at this stage. There are still areas
where we haven’t been able to reach. As more information becomes available, we will revise our plans and
our budget, and will most likely revise this amount based on the needs of the affected population. We
are calling on all our partners and donors to urgently and generously support the appeal.
For further information, please contact:
In Kathmandu
Mark South, British Red Cross delegate
Tel: +9779813102044 / Msouth@redcross.org.uk Twitter: @78Southy
Patrick Fuller, IFRC Asia Pacific communication manager
Tel +60122308451 / +881622418536 / Patrick.fuller@ifrc.org Twitter: @pat_fuller and @IFRCAsiapacific
Nichola Jones, IFRC communications delegate
Tel +447793167032 / Twitter @nicjones81
In New Delhi
Maude Froberg, IFRC regional communication manager
Tel +918130918887 / maude.froberg@ifrc.org Twitter: @maudefroberg
In Kuala Lumpur
Kate Roux, IFRC regional communication manager
Tel: +66 81 376 5107 / Katherine.roux@ifrc.org Twitter @katherineroux
In Geneva
Benoit Carpentier, IFRC external communications
+41792132413 Email: benoit.carpentier@ifrc.org Twitter: @BenoistC
Follow @Federation and @IFRCAsiapacific for updates on the Nepal earthquake response and
reference the hastag #NepalQuake