Flashflood in Uttarakhand,
India

The Himalayan states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in India were hit by torrential rain, landslides and flash floods on 14-17th June 2013. The erratic weather conditions were attributed to early monsoons in Northern India. River Ganges and its major tributaries - Alaknanda and Bhagirathi swelled up, causing widespread destruction in Uttarakhand. Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh, received the highest rainfall in 20 years. With no warning and time to evacuate, there were a large number of fatalities (5000 dead, and over 4700 missing) and much distress among inhabitants and the many visitors to the region. Extensive damage was caused to the cultivable land, horticulture crops and irrigation infrastructure and water supply systems. Public infrastructure such as roads and vital bridges, administrative buildings, schools and health centres, were badly damaged, and thereby basic amenities and services of education, healthcare, communication, power, etc., also severely compromised. Hence, a sustained initiative for rehabilitation of these communities is imperative.

Immediate Relief
Our ground presence in Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand) and Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh) through our various field offices and staff helped us respond promptly to the emergency and undertake rapid relief operations much before accessibility was restored and external help was available. Pragya India Head Office at the national capital region mobilized and transported relief material to the affected areas where the field staff ensured its effective distribution, at times even taking significant risks to reach out to those in need. We supplied food to relief camps and medicines to health department. Blankets, tarpaulins, tents, water purification tablets, medicines, ration, hygiene kits were reaching remote villages and stationery items, tents and teaching aids were provided to schools damaged by the flood. Pragya staff also provided coordination & IT support at the District Administration facilitated Control Room at Joshimath. 

Response & Rehabilitation
From the onset of its relief operations, PRAGYA staff undertook continuous area specific need assessments, which helped facilitate the formulation of effective rehabilitation strategies that were created with inputs from key stakeholders. PRAGYA was running Mobile Health Vans in 2 districts to address health concerns and also conducted 240 health camps along with district Health departments in worst-affected areas. Realizing the constraints of potable water & sanitation in the flood-affected region and its serious fallouts, PRAGYA, with support from its donors, installed 61 prefabricated toilet blocks and 89 water storage tanks and filtration systems. 141 households who had lost their earning members were provided polyhouses and seeds to enable them to get more income from a little patch of land. 

Resilience building
Pragya is currently engaged in building resilience in the target communities through capacity building and ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction initiatives.