| NSF Org: |
CMMI Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | July 23, 2015 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 23, 2015 |
| Award Number: | 1547554 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
David Mendonca
CMMI Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | August 1, 2015 |
| End Date: | July 31, 2016 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $48,945.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $48,945.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
|
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1601 VATTIER STREET MANHATTAN KS US 66506-2504 (785)532-6804 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
KS US 66506-1103 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | HDBE-Humans, Disasters, and th |
| Primary Program Source: |
|
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041 |
ABSTRACT
After each major disaster, many public agencies, humanitarian organizations, and others involved in emergency relief operation to reduce sufferings of survivors of such extreme event and enhance their disaster recovery process so that they can return livelihood to pre-disaster levels as quickly as possible. For various social, political, economic, and cultural factors, each relief operation confronts with unique challenges and therefore careful examination of such operation can provide valuable insights and lessons for disbursers of emergency assistance. These insights and lessons can assist both public and other relevant organizations in developing efficient and orderly relief operation plans for survivors of future natural disasters. The findings of this Rapid Response Research (RAPID) study are expected to develop further policies and priorities to enhance linking networks' support of disaster survivors in Nepal as well as other mountainous and earthquake-prone countries of the world. Thus, the study has the potential to produce policy options that can have transformative value for confronting the extreme natural events.
This study aims at investigating how well government and nongovernmental organizations (GOs and NGOs), as members of social network, performed emergency relief operations in Nepal after the country struck by a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25, 2015. The specific objectives of this study are to: 1) investigate the effectiveness of emergency aid delivered to earthquake survivors in Nepal by GOs and NGOs, 2) examine challenges and lessons GOs and NGOs learned from emergency aid distribution, and 3) identify the factors associated with earthquake survivors' opinion regarding effectiveness of GOs and NGOs relief efforts. The primary source of data for this study will come from field surveys to be conducted among earthquake survivors living in two affected areas in rural Nepal. Effectiveness of humanitarian aid will be examined by developing an additive composite index. Appropriate bivariate and multivariate techniques will be employed to accomplish the objectives of this study. The research will contribute to hazards and disasters fields through peer-reviewed journal papers and presentation at a profession meeting. Moreover, the research will contribute to the burgeoning literature on the role of social networks in disaster response.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
From the RAPID ("Contribution of Liking Networks in Nepalese Earthquake Response: A Case Study") grant,, I already submitted a manuscript ("Appropriateness of Earthquake Relief Materials in Nepal: Did the International Actors Learn from the Past?") to Natural Hazards Review. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the appropriateness of relief material sent by international actors in Nepal after the 2015 earthquakes. The study revealed that international community and actors sent unnecessary relief items to survivors of 2015 earthquakes in Nepal. Low quality food items like spoiled and rotten rice as well as degraded quality pulses were reported. Participants in the study also reported the distribution of environmentally and culturally inappropriate clothing items like cropped pants for women and over-sized t-shirts for men. The tents provided were small, inadequate for many households. The study findings provided useful lessons for international actors regarding what to send, and just as importanly, what not to send, in responding with post-disaster relief.
A second manuscript ("Effectiveness of Earthquake Relief Efforts in Nepal: Opinions of the Survivors") is almost ready to submit. I intend to submit it to the Natural Hazards. This study assesses how well government and nongovernmental organizations (GOs and NGOs) and others performed during emergency relief operations in Nepal after the country was struct by a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25, 2015. The primary source of data for this study was face-to-face interviews of 302 respondents from 10 study sites in two earthquake-affected districts. information collected through four Focus Group Meetings (FGMs) was also used to supplement the survey data. The performance or effectiveness of relief operations was measured by developing an additive composite index score. Both disaggregated and aggregated scores reveal that the emergency materials provided to the earthquake survivors in Nepal were appropriate and adequate for their needs and the aid distribution was relatively fair and timely. Analyses of survey data further suggest that the emergency aid was uniformly distributed among respondents of the two selected districts. Based on study findings, we provide several recommendations to relief operations in future disasters.
I am currently processing survey data to prepare two additional manuscripts on extent, nature, circumstances, and determinants of deaths and injuries caused by the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal. I intend to complete these two manuscripts in next three months and then submit to the journals Environmental Hazards and Disasters, respectively.
I would also like to present all four manuscripts to professional meetings within next two years. The first manuscript I intend to present at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG) to be held in April, 2017, in Boston.
Last Modified: 08/01/2016
Modified by: Bimal K Paul
Addendum # 1
The study found that disaster relief efforts undertaken by government and nongovernmental agencies (GOs and NGOs) immediate aftermath the 2015 earthquake in Nepal run relatively smoothly and effectively. After the initial delay, the relief efforts ultimately gained momentum and helped the earthquake survivors. Respondents of this study seems to be satisfied with disbursement of relief goods by GOs and NGOs. The relief distribution was relatively fair. Although some relief goods were not culturally and geographically appropriate, the respondents generally agreed that most of the items they received were appropriate and helped them to cope with the damage caused by the earthquake. However, there is room for improving performance of GOs and NGOs distribution of relief goods. The study found that some earthquake survivors lacked information about emergency aid, which prevented them from receiving aid. Along with improving communication, earthquake awareness and training programs for relief workers are necessary to meet the immediate needs of survivors of future earthquake. The government must procure equipment necessary for timely disbursal of relief materials in difficult mountainous terrain. .
Added: 09/28/2016
Submitted by: Bimal K Paul
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
