Emergency Appeal – Worst floods strike Pakistan

An article by Drew    1 Comment

News from TEAR Fund emergency appeal.

If you follow the news you’ll be well aware of the massive floods which are devastating Pakistan but do you realize that this flooding is becoming the biggest natural disaster in decades, affecting more people than the Haiti earthquake or the tsunami of 2004.

Torrential monsoon rains swept into the northwest of Pakistan on July 22nd. They moved north to the Khyber devastating precious farmland particularly in the Punjab region – known as the “rice bowl” of Pakistan.

At the time of writing this article the estimated death toll was over 1600 people and still rising. Over 15 million people were displaced and more than half a million hectares of arable land under water. But the situation is rapidly becoming worse. The monsoons are far from over and more heavy rain is forecast. The current floods are naturally flowing down into the south, overwhelming flood barriers and spreading into the Sindh area.

In the short term millions of people desperately need shelter, food, clothing medicine and other emergency supplies. It’s a cruel irony that in a severe flood the most urgent need is water… water that’s safe to drink.

With little clean water and sanitation available, water borne diseases can quickly become a major problem although at present there have been no epidemic outbreaks of anything more serious than diarrhea – although diarrhea can be a killer especially of young children.

300,000 Pakistani troops are attempting to bring aid to the victims along with NGOs and other aid organizations. The government response has been loudly criticized but coping with a disaster on this scale is a vast challenge, especially as many remote areas are cut off with the roads washed away or under water and aid can only be delivered by boat or helicopter.

Longer term prospects are also bleak. Crops have been destroyed, livestock drowned, wells contaminated and soil washed away. Roads, bridges, schools and medical centers will have to be rebuilt, communications and electricity restored. For a country as poor as Pakistan recovery will not be quick.

There are also worries that these floods may open the door for the Taliban to return and that the shaky democratic government may be destabilized with the population looking to the military for leadership.

Eye witness accounts of the floods give us some idea of the impact on ordinary people.
“My name is Lal Bux. We were sleeping in our homes at night and water took us by surprise from Indus to our village and very quickly our houses came under water. We didn’t get the chance to take out our belongings from our homes we lost whatever we had, but we saved our animals and people”.

“I was sleeping and suddenly my son came and said mother wakeup flood is coming as I cannot walk my son carried me on his shoulders we could only grasp few things as water didn’t gave us time leaving behind all our belongings and here we are under the open sky waiting for relief”.

“My name is Ali Bux, my 12 year old son is missing since the floods hit our village and since we are searching for him but no clue, I am a farmer and I have lost everything in this water”

A particularly moving story was sent to us from the Kashmor region near Guddu barrage (flood barrier). As people were struggling for their lives, trying to save their belongings and animals from the rising floodwater, a young pregnant woman went into labor. With the water level already 6 to 8 feet and rising steadily the woman fought to save the baby. There was no way she could reach a medical facility or get any professional help but with the assistance of the elder women of the village she gave birth to a child on a roof top, exposed to driving rain. Both mother and child survived. Currently they are living by the roadside without a roof over their heads or enough food but at least they’re alive.

If you’re able to help Pakistani flood victims like these please phone TEAR Fund on 0800 800 777 or you can donate online to our Pakistan Flood Relief Appeal – www.tearfund.org.nz.

Images are copyright The Guardian. To see more, visit their website.