Nepal prepares airports for natural disasters
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Nepal has moved to improve the preparedness of the country’s airports to respond to natural disasters.
Representatives from the Home Ministry, army, airport authorities and humanitarian organisations will join forces in an effort to improve the ability of Tribhuvan International Airport and Nepalgunj Airport to cope with disasters such as the earthquake that struck Nepal in April 2015.
The four-day ‘Get Airports Ready for Disaster’ (GARD) workshops will be led by Deutsche Post DHL Group and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). These events will evaluate the current level of preparedness at the two airports, before providing training and action plans for future disasters.
“The 2015 quake truly demonstrated the crucial role airports play in Nepal’s national emergency response network,” said Valerie Julliand, UNDP’s resident coordinator. “We just can’t wait for another disaster to strike to have strong and effective contingency plans to manage the flow of emergency relief goods to the people in need.
“The GARD workshop is a key milestone in UNDP’s efforts to support the government in making Nepal a disaster-resilient country and the airports ready to implement immediate response actions in the event of a disaster.”
Being a landlocked country with a mountainous geography, Nepal relies heavily on air routes to transport aid and supplies during times of emergency. The workshops will identify and advise priorities for investment in national infrastructure.
Within 48 hours after a 7.8-magnitude Nepal quake, Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan was flooded with humanitarian aid supplies and rescue and relief teams. About a week later however, large aircraft were unable to land at the airport as the runway was damaged from the influx of aid flights.
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