A missing lifeline after deadly floods

A resident surveying houses destroyed by the flash flood next to the river in Devighat, Nepal; and (inset) volunteers working with police to pack essential food, medicine and other supplies for a drone relief operation. — Atul Loke/The New York Times

TWO days after a catastrophic earthquake shook Nepal in April 2015, the US Agency for International Development (USAID)deployed a 128-member disaster response team to assess how it could help and pledged US$10mil in humanitarian aid.

The agency later provided tarp for shelters, helped build temporary schools out of bamboo and used mapping technology to help people find clean water.