Kathmandu, June 25: The Armed Police Force (APF) has established temporary monsoon response bases at 54 locations across the country to deal with monsoon-induced disasters. The temporary bases have been set up in disaster-prone areas where it would take time for rescue teams to be mobilized from regular APF offices.
Accordingly, six temporary bases have been established in Koshi Province, 11 in Madhesh, 16 in Bagmati, four in Gandaki, seven in Lumbini, two in Karnali, and eight in Sudurpashchim Province.
The APF has also established disaster management bases at 16 locations across the Himalayan, hilly, and Tarai regions and has kept the necessary personnel and resources on standby. Permanent bases have already been set up in Dhankuta, Sunsari, Bara, Saptari, Dhading, Sindhuli, Makwanpur, Kavrepalanchok, Myagdi, Gorkha, Dang, Surkhet, Jumla, Dadeldhura, Doti, and Kailali districts.
“These are permanent offices that remain operational throughout the year,” said APF spokesperson and Deputy Inspector General Netra Bahadur Karki. “Plans have been made to carry out disaster response activities using available resources and equipment.”
Informing that 8,180 APF personnel have been placed on 24-hour standby to respond to monsoon-related disasters this year, Karki said that all APF personnel would be provided disaster management orientation training by the end of the current Nepali month of Asar.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) has estimated that although this year’s monsoon rainfall is expected to be below average, monsoon-related disasters could affect around 226,661 people from 51,886 households nationwide.
According to the Authority, an estimated 38,736 people in Koshi Province, 35,361 in Madhesh, 32,897 in Bagmati, 21,641 in Gandaki, 51,626 in Lumbini, 13,175 in Karnali, and 33,227 in Sudurpashchim Province are likely to be affected.
To rescue people affected by floods and inundation, the APF has kept 82 raft boats, 53 motorboats, 4,710 specially trained APF personnel, and 134 trained divers on standby with necessary equipment at 11 high-risk locations across the country, spokesperson Karki said.
Disaster Information Network of 168,956 Members Prepared
The APF has developed a disaster information network comprising 168,956 disaster informants to ensure the timely receipt of disaster-related information. These informants will immediately notify the nearest APF unit whenever a disaster occurs in their locality.
To facilitate the flow of information for rescue operations during disasters, the APF has also brought into operation the APF–Community Alert System (APF–CAS). According to spokesperson Karki, the system enables immediate transmission of information to operation rooms at each brigade level, allowing prompt issuance of deployment orders and rapid mobilization of rescue teams.
People’s News Monitoring Service.
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