16 August 2010
Pakistan is suffering the worst floods in over a century. Initially this affected the northwest, in particular the Swat Valley. The flood waters moved south bringing destruction to lower parts of North West Frontier Province—now called 'Khyber Pakhtunkhwa'. So far over 1,600 people have lost their lives and up to 20 million people are displaced or have suffered significant loss. The UN now reckons this to be a greater humanitarian disaster than the combined effects of the three greatest natural disasters of the past decade: the Asian tsunami, the Pakistan earthquake and the earthquake in Haiti. As the severely swollen Indus River moves south, it is bursting its banks and bringing flooding to Punjab and Sindh Provinces.
Over the past few days SIM has been distributing emergency packs containing: 10kgs of flour, one kg each of lentils, chickpeas and sugar, one litre of milk, one litre of cooking oil, and salt, red pepper and matches. We plan to continue distribution of these basic supplies, but expect that the need for medical help will increase.
In the north, roads and bridges have been severely damaged, cutting off whole communities from the rest of the country. For weeks to come the only way into these areas will be by plane or helicopter. In the south the huge number of displaced people and unhygienic conditions threaten to cause mass outbreaks of waterborne diseases. The damage to Pakistan’s infrastructure will take a long time to put right.
In the initial stages we are seeking to provide basic food items and medicine. In the next stage there may be need to help with temporary shelter and possibly resettlement of people into their own villages.
The following video shows a short interview with some people affected by the floods.
