Nepal-Tibet floods - reflections of the recent disaster

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The recent Nepal-Tibet floods is a poignant reminder of the power of Mother Nature, and also the desperate situation over there, which was what drove me to join a team back in 2012 and 2013 to go over twice to help.

I was there to do some social work, and render assistance, and in our second trip, we even manpacked a portable surgical OT complete with ventilation and curtains, kindly donated by a retired engineer friend.

Nepal and Tibet are two mountainous regions, with underdeveloped infrastructure, and some of the toughest terrain you can imagine. 

For my first trip there, we had to trek for three days, across ridge-lines and ravines, cross fast running rivers, sometimes on fast rope and metal cables and climb up to 3000m and setup the forward base for the porters who will bring in the heavy stuff. Originally the bus would carry everything, but the roads were full of holes and some roads were half their usual width due to the rains, or simple too dangerous. Whilst the hike was tough - probably the toughest thing I have done, even more than the ops we did way back in Gds - it was preferable to the bus ride as that was even more dangerous.

Mobile OT

The very same terrain will be what rescues need to face, and the roads leading to the area is similar to what we faced and our area of ops is not that far from the disaster site, but we went in late May.

Daytime temperatures are not bad, if you are hiking hard, a wicking shirt and a jacket should be ok, but at night the temperatures can drop below zero and the air is thin in that region, which ranges from a few hundred metres to a few thousand. So you have to make your way across mountains, not hills like our B Timah, but much higher ones to save time instead of using roads which wind round the long way.

The initial 48-72 hours is crucial to getting rescue teams in, but heavy equipment is scarce and also hard to get into the area. Helicopters may be able to send teams in, dropping them a few km or more away and they will need to manpack the items into the disaster zone. Of the few roads leading into the area, many will be damaged and the helicopters can't carry heavy items. Also Nepal does not have a lot of such helicopters. It's not a well to do nation so that adds to the trouble. Getting medical teams in is also harder, and the area is still quite unsafe right now. A mobile unit, similar to the mobile OT we carried in will be a real ordeal. It's like setting up a battle casualty station there but you will need to hand carry everything in, through the mountains and ravines. Any casualties will face a lot of difficulties being evacuated, even if it was possible. The nearest hospitals are quite far, and may not be able to handle a lot of new patients.











Prayers for them



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