Rahat-Sahayog (relief support): examining disaster emergency response in the aftermath of the Nepal Earthquake 2015

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to critically examine the post-disaster emergency response amongst marginalised and disadvantaged social groups following the 2015 Nepal Earthquake (7.8 Mw).Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research method was employed by conducting interviews with disaster survivors from marginalised and ethnic social groups, humanitarian aid workers and government officials in the four districts worst hit by the 2015 Nepal Earthquake.FindingsThis research found that community members demonstrated remarkable cooperation in the aftermath of the disaster; however, caste-based discrimination still manifested in post-earthquake emergency environments. Further, this research showed that the engagement of government and local and international humanitarian organisations was noteworthy in the earthquake emergency response in Nepal as it localised relief packages and adapted the assistance corresponding to the fast-changing post-disaster environments. However, some relief materials were culturally inappropriate and climatically unsuitable. This paper also shows that the poor dissemination of relief distribution plans, resource duplication and ineffective targeting disproportionately impacted the oppressed and marginalised households in receiving humanitarian assistance.Originality/valueStudies have been undertaken on the emergency response to the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, however, few have focussed on the lived experience of marginalised and disadvantaged social groups. Further, this research builds on, and contributes to, the humanitarian mobile sovereignty discourse.