Disaster Management Cell

Disaster Management Cell

Hidaya Foundation Trust has always stood by the suffering people during most major natural disasters.
Be it the floods of Aila Hurricane or the Nepal earthquakes or the recent floods in West Bengal during August 2017, Hidaya Foundation Trust has always sent teams to go and deliver food and necessary aid to the worst affected areas.

Udaynarayanpur, Amta Flood Relief, 2017

In July 2017, 300 villages across 8 districts of West Bengal were affected by severe floods. Udaynarayanpur and Amta II were the worst affected districts, where water levels in some villages was 14-18 feet above ground level, thereby forcing the population to abandon their homes and seek shelter on raised land, state highways and tall buildings. Majority population in these villages lives in mud houses and hence their entire homes were washed away in the flood. Hidaya Foundation Trust sent 4 teams to the worst affected areas to distribute food aid, housing material, basic medicines and disinfectants. The following key steps were undertaken to ensure maximum reach to the affected population:
  1. Before project undertaking, a survey team was sent to scout the worst affected areas and the most optimum logistics route to them
  2. Parallely purchase teams started negotiating with large wholesalers in the townships closest to the affected areas,  to utilize the funds in the best possible way and reduce logistics investments on the day of delivery
  3. All material was packed in individual units for ease of distribution in the field
  4. Local representatives – school teachers, doctors, merchants, were included in the teams to ensure correct distribution to the worst affected families in the villages, as well as chart the least problematic route

Nepal Earthquake Relief, 2015

The massive earthquake in Nepal in May 2015 killed nearly 9,000 people and injured about 22,000 others. This was the worst natural disaster to hit Nepal after the 1934 Nepal-Bihar Earthquake, affecting a number of districts across Nepal  and destroying a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Hidaya Foundation Trust took food aid and clothings to some of the worst hit areas in Nepal and distributed relief material worth Rs. 500,000. A team of 4 project members were constantly engaged to scout more affected areas during distribution in one area. Hence the worst hit population could be identified and relief material reached on time to the needy.

Assam Flood Relief 2012

In 2012 several districts of Assam were engulfed in civil disorder, whereby about 600,000 people were affected due to rioting and half of those had to be housed in refugee camps run across the state. Hidaya Foundation Trust ran a relief camp in Bilasipara, Dhubri District and different villages of Kokrajhar District of Assam. The team distributed food and housing aid to the population, apart from providing logistics support to other agencies involved in similar relief work. Among the relief material were food utensils, mosquito nets, blankets and basic disinfecting medicines. Material worth approx. Rs. 600,000 was distributed among 1,500 affected people across different villages.

AILA FLOOD RELIEF, SUNDARABANS, 2009

In May 2009, India saw one of its largest cyclonic devastations by Storm Aila, which affected the districts of East Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan, South 24 Parganas and Kolkata, in West Bengal India. The entire Bay of Bengal coastal area of India and Bangladesh was hit in different magnitudes. Hidaya Foundation Trust was beside the worst affected people, bringing in drinking water, food and flood relief material worth about Rs. 800,000 to the needy by small motorized boats as all land transport access points were submerged in such areas. About 3,000 villagers were supplied with relief aid during the 10 day long project. After the relief effort was completed, the Trust took a team of doctors from Howrah District Hospital to the site and conducted a number a day long free health check and awareness camps, to safeguard the population against post flood ailments and epidemics.

Potashpur Medinipur Flood Relief 2008

In 2008, a severe flood hit West and East Midnapore, West Bengal, India, whereby about 300,000 people were affected in about 8,000 villages small villages  across the District. The Government administration airdropped 4 tons of food and distributed about 2,000 tons of rice other food items in the affected areas.

Out of the entire District, the condition of Potashpur (II) in East Midnapore was the worst, boats being the only means of accessing the entire Block. Hidaya Foundation Trust Disaster Management Cell camped in Potashpur for a week and supplied the affected with food and house building aids. Material worth Rs. 500,000 was distributed across the affected areas in Potashpur.