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2742

“I have nothing left to lose any more.”

Sartaj Bacha is resident of Village Syedano Kalay in Tehsil Barikot, district Swat and was living quite a content life with his wife and five daughter. Despite not earning very handsomely since he was working on a daily wage, his life in his three room mud house was comfortable. Every morning he walked to work.

“The pouring rain on the day of the disastrous earthquake proved to be a blessing in disguise for my family and myself as I was home with them since I could not go to work due to the continuous rain. As the trembling of the earthquake began, I ran to take my four daughters and wife out of the house to a safer location but in haste I forgot my youngest daughter, Sania, two and a half years, sleeping in bed.”

Sania was buried under the debris of the fallen roof and the panicked parents could hear her helpless cries from beneath the rubble. With the help of his neighbors, Sartaj instantly reached out to Sania after digging her out from the rubble. She was dug out of the rubble uninjured miraculously. “Had I been not at home, I would have lost any one of my family members,” expressed Sartaj, holding Sania in his arms. “I thank God for sending rains as my family’s savior”.

“Even though I lost everything, I have my family with me.” Sartaj and his affected neighbors are living with their relatives in their house in a nearby village. The affected communities in this area have not yet received any immediate support from humanitarian or government agencies.  Most of the community members are being supported with food assistance by their relatives from the winter food stocks that they were holding. That stock is also being depleted quickly since it is feeding more than its intended recipients.

Sartaj Bacha expressed that he has not yet thought of any recovery or rehabilitation plans yet. All of his family’s belongings have been lost with the earthquake. Earning opportunities in Swat have diminished greatly since it has been affected by disasters one after the other- growing militancy, military operation followed by 2010 devastating floods and now this massive earthquake.

Community World Service Asia’s team is currently doing the needs assessment in district Swat, Shangla, Malakand, Buner and Kohistan districts. The initial information received from the field team indicates that winterization support, food and health support are direly needed by the communities. Community World Service Asia will start its interventions within this week for the affected people to cover the gap identified during the assessment.

Collected by Waheed Murad, Community World Service Asia Staff

 

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“Floods make the poor, the poorest” – Mai Pathani (Gotkhi, Sindh)

Mai Pathani is a 50 year old housewife from the village of Nehal Chachar in Union Council (UC) Qadir Pur in Gotkhi, Sindh. Her husband is a barber named Khawand Buksh. The couple has four daughters and three sons together.  Mai Pathani has kept two goats to contribute to the household income since her husband’s income alone is insufficient for the family of nine.

CO-PIC-00034-15 (1)Before the floods hit their village this year, Khawand Buksh provided hair cutting bservices to the village residents and in return each of his clients paid him with wheat grains after each harvest. Some of his clients in the village also offered Buksh’s family food supplies.  However, this support was inconsistent.

Despite living in poverty and on limited resources, Mai Pathani’s zest for life was alive. She celebrated Eid with her neighbors and relatives in the village with enthusiasm not knowing the day to follow would leave her house and her village under water. Mai Pathani and the rest of the villagers were completely unaware of the coming rains when all of a sudden heavy showers started pouring in and within minutes flood water had entered the village.

The residents of Nehal Chachar were informed by authorities that the water level in their village would not rise and they could stay in the village without any worry. There had not been any major flooding in the area since 2010 so the villagers were quite confident about the safety of their village. However, on the night of 18th July, 2015, following Eid day, heavy showers of rain lasted the whole day with water overflowing from Indus River entering the village and submerging it completely. Mai Pathani’s family among many other villagers rushed to leave the flooded Nehal Chachar in the midst of the night. By this time the flood waters had risen up to five feet inside their homes.

Khawand Buksh’s limited income did not allow him to afford renting a boat to carry his family members along with their household essentials out of their plummeting village to the emergency evacuation area at Qadir Pur Band. Inevitably, the family took the risk of sailing out of the village on a large sized frying pan despite the continuing heavy rains and strong winds. Buksh’s family had used the same transport method to float out of their village during the 2010 floods as well. It took them almost an hour to reach the Loop Bund via the frying pan.

Watching an entire family floating in just a frying pan surrounded by nothing but water was quite terrifying for onlookers. However many could not see how Mai Pathani’s family was barely floating economically and socially as well. The family did not own any land or any sustainable assets to ensure their dietary sustenance. To add on, barbers and their families are often socially marginalized in communities in this area; the rigid class system denies such families an equal right to education and participation in social and political spheres.

Mai Pathani’s house and their preserved stock of 480 kgs of wheat had been washed away by the floods. Agricultural and domestic assets of other villagers who often supported their family were also destroyed. Temporarily living at a shelter in Qadirpur Bund, Khawand Buksh sometimes travels to the nearby town to find some clients for his barber service. If fortunate to find clients, he earns PKR 50 a day.   Earning this amount and sharing the meal bought by it with other affected families means that his own family hardly consumes a nutritional meal. The family is desperately struggling to make ends meet.

Previously when the floods had not yet hit this peaceful village, Mai Pathani’s family at least took two meals in a day; both the meals consisted of either pulses or vegetables but were sufficient for their family.  Since the advent of the floods however, the family’s meals reduced to one a day as pulses and vegetables were scarcely available.  Being a woman and coming from a socially marginalized background, the floods and the ensuing displacement has exposed Mai Pathani to not just apparent risks as food insecurity but also to many protection issues.

Being in a displaced setting, Mai Pathani and her two adolescent daughters have to wait the whole day to use the temporary constructed latrines.  They have to wait till its dark and there are no men around the latrine area. Pathani and Buksh’s youngest son used to attend school but since the village was hit by the floods, his education has been put on hold too. As a responsible mother and a devoted wife, Mai Pathani’s hardship and sacrifices do not end here. She first feeds her seven children and her husband and eats only if there is any food left over after they have consumed their meal.

Mai Pathani’s family was among the affected communities supported by Community World Service Asia’s Emergency Humanitarian assistance project for Floods Response in Gotkhi last month. She expressed that the food assistance by the organization has made a positive (suthu) impact on their lives. Before the emergency assistance was provided to them, the family only got to eat rice twice a week if lucky.  Whereas since the support from Community World Service Asia, they are eating rice more often in a week. The quantity and quality of their daily meals has since then improved as well. Now they have more supply of pulses and wheat bread which makes up a more nutritional meal for the family.

The Buksh family, more popularly known as “the floating family” now hope to return to their village and their home within the next two weeks. They are hoping the flood water levels will recede by then.  The committed Mai Pathani plans to help her husband in reconstructing their house once they return to their village. They are optimistic that they will reconstruct the house after a month once the land is fully dry. Though, belonging to a socially marginalized family, Mai Pathani and her husband do not have very high hopes for a drastic change in their life after returning home.

While other villagers will start sowing seeds in their crop fields, the floating family will wait for the harvest of the other farmers to share a small portion of their crop produce with them in return of Khawand Buksh’s barber services. Till then, Mai Pathani worries about the availability of sufficient food for her children. The worried mother envisages that if her children, including daughters, were equipped with some skills they would not have to depend entirely on the crop yields of others. Instead the family would earn and provide for themselves living in their own village.

Written By: Muhammad Fazil, Edited By: Palwashay Arbab

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A flood affected family and their house in Gotkhi, Sindh

Assistance to flood affected communities in Sindh and Punjab

 “Rains continues as the number of affected people crossed 1.5 million figure Across Pakistan”

 8th September 2015

Background

The flood emergency in Pakistan has affected the lives, livelihood and health of hundreds of communities across the country. The rains that started in the third week of July this year continued with short intervals. The heavy showers of rain coupled with glacial melts that led to lake outbursts created havoc among the communities living along the river beds in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KPK), Punjab and Sindh Provinces. According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) latest update, the number of affected people has crossed the 1.5 million figures and still counting. Sindh remained the worse affected of all the provinces as the number of affected people in Sindh province alone is reported to be under a million. So far 1,529,189 people have been affected leading to 220 deaths and 189 injuries.

The prevailing high temperatures in northern areas combined with rainfall may trigger flash floods in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral which is further expected to result in heavy inflows into the local rivers and streams of northern areas. Owing to the current meteorological conditions, the Sindh province being on the tail end of the country is most vulnerable to further damage as all the water from the glacier melts, rains and floods is expected to flow south.

Impact of the Floods:

Sindh:  Seven districts and around 3,157 villages have been affected by the floods in Sindh so far. The affected districts in Sindh include Kashmore, Gothki, Shikarpur, Khairpur, Sukur, Qambar Shahdadkot and Sujawal (Thatta). In Sindh alone 958,694 people have been affected and the number is still increasing as the low lying areas are now receiving flood waters flowing in from the upper parts of the country. Due to the geographical situation of the Sujawal (Thatta) district, the area is expected to receive more flood water and more villages of the district are expected to be affected in the coming days.

Punjab: At least 58 people have died and 11 are reported to be injured due to heavy rains and flood emergency in the Punjab Province. A total of 586 villages in Mianwali, Layyah, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Rahimyarkhan and Muzaffargarh districts are inundated by the floods. In total, 463,902 people have been reported to be affected in the province. Rajanpur is declared as the most affected district in Punjab where the local government declared emergency for urgent relief. A total of 256,000 people have been affected by floods in three Tehsils of district Rajanpur where there is a huge need of clean drinking water and sanitation along with hygiene promotion.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK): Fourteen districts have been affected by the floods in KPK whereas 102 people have reportedly died and 108 injured. A reported 3,977 houses have been damaged of which 684 have been completely destroyed. The affected districts in KPK include Abbotabad, Bannu, Batagram, Charsadda, Chitral, DI Khan, Hangu, Karak, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, Mansehra, Peshawar, Swat and Shangla.

Gilgit-Baltistan:

Diamer, Gilgit, Ghizar, Ghanche, Skardu and Hunza districts in this region have been reported to be severely damaged. A total of 286 villages and 812 houses are reported damaged as a result of rains, landslides and flashfloods. This has left seven people dead and an overall 35,717 people affected.  A number of roads and connecting bridges have also been washed away that have left many villages disconnected from the urban centres.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK):

Districts Sudhnoti, Neelam, Havaili and Bhimber of AJK have been reported to be severely affected by the recent rains and flash floods which have resulted in the death of 26 people, damaged 17 villages and 408 houses completely.

Baluchistan: Heavy rainfall, windstorm and the resulting floods in districts Zhob, Musakhel, Killa Saifullah, Kohlu and Dera Bugti of Baluchistan has damaged flood protection bunds, electric poles, roads and has uprooted many trees and plantations. The floods have also caused ruptures at various points in the protection bunds and has claimed four lives so far. A total of 16 people have died so far while 34 others have been reported injured. On the whole, 69,976 people are affected in this province and 1,176 houses damaged.

FATA: A reported 11 people have died and 13 have been injured in Khyber and Mohamand agencies of Federally Administered Tribal Areas due to the floods. A total of 424 houses and 19 villages have been damaged across the FATA region which has resulted in affecting around 900 people.

Pakistan ACT Forum Response:

Community World Service Asia has started responding in two districts of Ghotki and Sujawal to the recent flood crisis in Sindh Province. Under its planned assistance, 3,223 flood affected families have been assisted with one month food rations. As per the findings of the assessment of Community World Service Asia team, a number of districts in Sindh are already affected and thousands of more are displaced who are in dire need of food, non-food items (NFIs) and health assistance. The Community World Service Asia team is also assessing the additional emergency and early recovery needs of the communities.

NCA has started emergency response through its partner Sungi in Rajanpur (Punjab) to reach a total of 15,000 flood affected individuals by utilizing their own of 600,000 NOK, The interventions will be carried out in UC jahanpur, UC Hajipur and UC noorpur in Rajanpur district. NCA has installed two water treatment units and have started to deliver water to 10,000 individuals. The Third water treatment unit will be installed and operational by end of this week and water will be transported though water trucks which is expected to fulfill the water needs of an additional 5000 individuals. NCA has its own WASH stock that includes 4000 jerry cans, 93000 aqua tabs and 857 emergency hygiene kits that will be distributed in community.

NCA Pakistan also plans to reach 4,500 individuals through WASH by utilizing ACT appeal grant of 60,000 USD starting from 15th of September 2015 and will end on 15th of February 2016. Through ACT appeal NCA will be reaching to same individuals in areas of their origin. The interventions will include construction of 100 improved sanitation facilities, installation and rehabilitation of 45 hand pumps, distribution of 100 hygiene kits and hygiene promotion.

For more information on the appeal, please refer to the following links:

ACT Appeal Pak 151
Funding Status

Contacts:
Allan A. Calma

Deputy Director – Disaster Management Program

Community World Service Asia

allan@cwspa.org.pk

Cell: +92 301 5801621

 James John

Deputy Country Representative

Norwegian Church Aid (NCA)

Email: james.john@nca.no

Cell: +92 345 8551289

 

2644

Shaink Bund is the central bund (levee) that protects the Qadir pur union council from the threatening flood waters. Qadirpur Union council is a part of district Ghotki in the Sindh province. As the water levels rise, the water from the Shaink bund flows to the other two bunds, Loop bund and Qadirpur bund. There are around thirty five villages located in between Shaink bund and the two bunds. When water in the Shaink bund overflows to the other two bunds, the villages located in between are heavily flooded. The residents of these villages struggle to survive by seeking immediate refuge at the Loop and Qadirpur bunds.

Mae Husna is a 45 years old mother of six living with her ill husband in village Nihal Goth, situated in the middle of the bunds. Her family is among those who have been displaced to the Loop bund for safety.  Nihal Goth, situated at a 500 meters distance from Loop bund is only a kilometer away from the river bank which is why it is among the most affected villages as the bund overflows. Most of the houses in the village have sank to almost 90 percent under the flood water. These houses have become unfit to live in even after the water levels go down.

Remember the horrifying day of when the flood came, Mae Husna mournfully narrated the experience,

“The water levels had started increasing on the night before Eid. The water had started flowing into our house heavily so we had to leave our house soon after offering Eid prayers early morning. Our only aim was to save our lives and leave everything else and our home as it was. We were given no early warnings about the floods.”

Her husband being unable to work due to his illness, Mae Husna is the sole bread winner for the family. Of her five daughters, three have been married off so they live on their own with their husbands while the younger two daughters have been sent to a relative’s house to be in a safer environment. The mother could forsee the protection issues her teenage daughters would have had to face in such uncertain living conditions at the embankment.  Having no biological son of her own, Mae Husna adopted her only son from her relatives who is with her and her husband at the Loop bund these days.

The flood affected communities in Qadirpur UC are facing grave water, sanitation and health and hygiene issues. They have no food to cook for themselves or utensils to cook with. They are living without shelters. Drinking water is brought from a two kilometers distant village. Diseases such as   diarrhea among children, malaria, high fever and skin infections have been reported at a rise.

Community World Service Asia along with its local partner in Sindh, Transformation and Reflection for Rural Development (TRD) have identified and selected hundred most vulnerable flood affected families taking refuge at Loop bund in district Ghotki. These selected families have been distributed one month food rations. The food package has been designed for a household of six members, which is the average household size in the province. The items in the food package include 65Kgs of wheat flour, 15kgs of rice, 8 kgs of pulses, 4 kgs of sugar, 6 liters of oil, 800 grams of iodized salt, 400 grams of black tea leaves and a match box.

Based on the selection criteria of the most vulnerable families, Mai Husna and her family has been selected for the emergency food assistance. After receiving the food ration she expressed,

“Life cannot be the same all the time, but it is good that an organization such as Community World Service Asia is here to help troubled people like us in such difficult times.”

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Photo credits: Saleem Dominic

Floods 2015 (Joint Update)

f15map

The ongoing flood emergency is continuing to adversely affect the lives and livelihoods of thousands of communities all across Pakistan and its AJK state. The rains that started in the mid of July have continued for weeks disrupting the lives of many communities. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) have reported 917,791 people as affected; 173 deaths and 127 injuries owing to the devastating floods. In Sindh, the rainfall leading to floods has affected the Katcha area of the six districts however it is anticipated that the floods will drift down to the low lying districts of the province as well.

Damage statistics caused by the floods in the country are indicated in the table below:

Province Deaths Injured Houses Damaged Villages Affected Population Affected
AJ&K 22 5 237 17 –
Baluchistan 13 33 798 – –
Gilgit Baltistan 7 6 812 286 136,000
KPK 83 70 3,320 – –
Punjab 48 13 2,025 496 362,863
Sindh – – – 2,097 418,928
Total 173 127 7,192 2,896 917,791

Government authorities have predicted an increase in flooding particularly in Sindh in the upcoming days as heavy monsoon rains are continuing, thus increasing flood water levels in Kabul, Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers. The persistent melting of glaciers in Diamer district are further adding to the rise in river waters. The authorities have warned of massive destructions in interior Sindh in the coming weeks when flood water from all of over the country is expected to pass through catchment districts of Indus River in the Sindh province.

Following is a brief overview of the impact the recent flash floods have had on the different provinces of Pakistan so far:

Sindh:  Six districts have been severely affected by the floods in Sindh so far and the number of the affected villages is expected to increase rapidly in the following days. The affected districts in Sindh include Kashmore, Gothki, Shikarpur, Khairpur, Sukur and Qambar Shahdadkot.  The displaced communities have no choice but to live in tents under open skies on embankments and elevated areas in the affected districts. Anticipating displacement from these districts the government has established relief camps at various embankments.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Eleven districts of the KPK province have been affected by the floods and a lot  more damage is expected in the near future due to the unending monsoon rains, land sliding, melting of glaciers and increase in flood level in Kabul and Indus rivers. The affected districts in KPK include Bannu, Batagram, Charsadda, Chitral, DI Khan, Karak, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, Peshawar, Swat and Shangla. However Nowshera and Charsadda are at a higher risk because of the mounting pressure being caused in Kabul River due to the continuing rains.

Gilgit-Baltistan: Diamer, Gilgit, Ghizar, Ghanche, Skardu and Hunza districts have been reported to be severely damaged. A number of roads and connecting bridges have been washed away leaving many villages disconnected from the main towns.

AJK: District Sudhnoti, Neelam, Havaili and Bhimber have been reported to have been affected by the rains and flash floods in 17 villages in the region.

Punjab: Almost 500 villages in Mianwali, Layyah, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Rahimyarkhan and Muzaffargarh districts are left inundated by the floods. Agricultural land spread across 378,172 acres of land have also been destroyed.

Baluchistan: Heavy rainfall, windstorms and the inevitable floods have left districts Zhob, Musakhel, Killa Saifullah, Kohlu and Dera Bugti severely damaged; flood protection bunds, electricity poles, roads, plantations have been impaired. The floods have caused breaches at various locations in the protection bunds claiming four lives so far.

FATA: A number of villages and houses have been reported as damaged in the Khyber and Mohmand agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. However, exact figures are yet to be reported by the authorities and the national media.

Response by Act Alliance: Community World Service Asia’s project teams are present in KPK, Sindh and Punjab provinces as well as in Azad Jamu & Kashmir. Sindh, positioned on the tail-end of Indus River, is one of the most flood-prone provinces. A number of districts in Sindh are already affected and the thousands of people displaced are in need of food, non-food items (NFIs) and health assistance. Community World Service Asia’s team in Sindh has carried out assessments and has also completed the distribution of monthly food packages to 100 flood affected families. The assistance is to be continued as 2,221 additional families will receive monthly food packages in the coming weeks. Community World Service Asia will also establish a water treatment plant in district Ghotki which will provide treated, clean drinking water to approximately 5,000 flood affected people on a daily basis for a month. Provision of Emergency Health Services has also been proposed in district Ghotki.

Our partner, NCA’s WASH team have also completed an assessment in Punjab and Sindh. In Sindh province, NCA has jointly assessed the situation in district Ghotki together with Community World Service Asia focusing on WASH, health and livelihoods. NCA’s assessment covers Layyah, Muzaffargarh and Rajanpur districts in Punjab province and Ghotki, and Kashmore districts in Sindh province.  The assessment team has conducted a rapid survey using semi-structured questionnaires, key informant interviews, FGDs and interviews with government stakeholders to gather important information on access, vulnerability, coping capacity, available resources and existing key risks. The assessment has been compiled.

As part of NCA’s emergency preparedness plan, the organization is mobilizing its pre-positioned mobile Water Treatment Units (WTUs) for immediate use. Each unit can purify and provide clean drinking water to 5,000 individuals based on SPHERE standards. Keeping in view the urgent needs and NCA’s life saving response capacity, it is utilizing its internal funds (through their head office) to provide emergency funds to immediately mobilize the WTUs. As planned for this response, six WTUs will provide water to alteast 30,000 individuals at this crucial stage. The budgeted amount is calculated for a three months response.

Contacts:
Allan A. Calma
Deputy Director
Disaster Management Program
Email: allan.calma@communityworldservice.asia
Cell: +92 301 5801621

Muhammad Fazal
Associate Director
Emergencies/DRR/Climate Change
Email: fazil.sardar@communitryworldservice.asia
Cell: +92 332 5586134

Palwashay Arbab
Head of Communications
Email: palwashay.arbab@communityworldservice.asia
Ph: +92 42 3586 5338

Sources:
www.ndma.gov.pk
www.pmd.gov.pk

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Communities seek safety on higher ground of river embankments as their homes are flooded
Village organization planning emergency evacuation as part of a DRR training in Thatta.
Village organization planning emergency evacuation as part of a DRR training in Thatta.

Heavy rains have been severely affecting communities in Union Council Bijora, District Thatta, in the Sindh province of Pakistan.  Community World Service Asia has been present in the area since the devastating flooding in 2010, and continues to run health and livelihoods projects.  As part of an initiative funded by Christian Aid, Community World Service Asia is supporting the livelihoods of community members through vocational training and literacy classes for women, and community mobilization for disaster preparedness.

Thatta is an extremely flood-prone area, and flooding presents a serious hazard to the wellbeing and livelihoods of the local population. The destruction of crops, livestock and property results in significant losses and lead to the accumulation of debt and continuing poverty for already vulnerable households.  The recent monsoon rains have left 25 to 35 families homeless, rendered pathways between villages inaccessible and heavily impacted the earnings of people who rely on agricultural labor for their wages.  A lack of safe drinking water has also caused illnesses such as vomiting and diarrhea, which are particularly dangerous for young children, and especially so in a situation of food insecurity when many children are already malnourished.

Since 2013, Community World Service Asia has been conducting disaster risk reduction (DRR) trainings for community members and establishing village organizations to mobilize the community and facilitate them in disaster preparedness.  These organizations have undertaken a variety of key DRR initiatives, including the establishment of a community-based early warning system, based on regular and close monitoring of radio reports, hazard assessments and regular coordination and communication throughout the community.  They have conducted evacuation drills and have formed Emergency Rescue Teams to be ready for, and activated in, an emergency situation.

This value of this preparation became clear when the heavy rainfall began to affect the area, as the village organizations and community members promptly began coordination and activated the rescue teams to evacuate villagers to safety on the high ground of the embankment.

The village organizations are also coordinating with local authorities, utilizing the contacts that were provided during Community World Service Asia’s trainings. This had resulted in the district coordinator coming to inspect the situation of the village, and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority providing tents to shelter the displaced families.

The pro-active response of the community has demonstrated the effectiveness of the training methodologies. More importantly it has shown the importance of empowering the community to take ownership of its preparedness, and engaging the local population in efforts to reduce the risks posed by flooding.

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Written by Neill Garvie

Photo credit: Saleem Dominic- Community World Service Asia staff

Yesterday, with my Pakistani colleagues, I visited the river banks/bunds of the Indus River in Ghotki, Qadirpur, Upper Sindh, where more than 5,000 families are stranded. The day was hot, maybe 40 degrees or more, with harsh sun and wind.

The stranded people are small-scale farmers reliant on their landlords and mostly indebted to money lenders. Their lives are hard, now made impossible. They had left their homes in the middle of the night as flood waters consumed their homes, taking their livestock, buffaloes and cattle.

Some men had stayed behind to protect what was left: submerged houses surrounded by stinking rank water, black and green, with all sorts of debris around. They burned tree stems cut for firewood to enable them to boil the water from the flood to drink.

The women had moved further along the bund (embankment or levee) with their children and what household items they had, their simple cooking utensils laid out on the riverbank. They had no privacy, no toilets, nothing. Many have no shelter except for their clothes and some sheets for protection from the baking heat.

Men sat looking helpless and in their eyes I saw bewilderment and sadness; what could be their next move but to wait? I sat with a group of men my own age, looking tired and haggard. They told me that they had been reduced to drinking the flood water.

We looked out at the sea of flood which stretched as far as I could see; it could be weeks before the water subsides as the ground is saturated.

I listened to the people on the bund and put myself in their shoes. I held back my tears and said that I was so very sorry that this had happened to them again. They are very poor people without hope, fearing what lies ahead.

They are the same people who suffered in the 2010 floods. The water level here is just one foot lower than it was at the height of the 2010 floods and more flood water is expected in the next two or three days.

Children however played in the flood water, sharing it with the buffalo that are defecating in it. Sugar cane and all other crops have been wiped out and standpipes and water pumps are now submerged by over nine feet of flood water.

People have no option but to drink the flood water option unless they can find water or someone can provide it. Disease, diarrhoea or cholera threatens. Cattle do not have fodder. It’s desperate and chilling.

The Pakistan army has been protecting and fortifying the bund where people were stranded with huge rocks, many transported in tractors and overladen trailers. One tractor and trailer was so heavy that it destroyed a bridge designed for donkey carts.

But the flood water is seeping through the bund and the added rocks may not do much to stop more flood water. It will come, because up country the heavy rain continues and it will all enter the Indus and be deposited in Sindh. If the Sukkur barrage (or dam) gives way, then millions of people will be affected by the flood as they were in 2010.

In Ghotki, some people had received tents from the Pakistani government’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority. Others have started to help with food and drinking water.

But the stranded people will have many more needs and face another uphill struggle to piece their lives back together. They are resilient and have faith, yet they also live beside a huge river which is mostly dormant but which wakes to become an ocean when the monsoon is cruel.

Our Pakistani brothers and sisters will survive but they now face a struggle that few of us can imagine.

Neill Garvie is Christian Aid’s Emergency Programme Manager for Pakistan and wrote this piece as he was visiting Sindh this week.

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The monsoon rains that struck Pakistan in the third week of July are still continuing across the country. As a result of the heavy monsoon rains and melting of glaciers in the north of country, there has been widespread flooding in different regions of the country. The table below shows the level of damages reported till today:

No. of Casualties People injured Houses damaged Villages affected Total affected population
146 66 3,133 2,073 752,274

The floods have also severely damaged the infrastructure and local livelihoods of many parts of rural and semi-urban Pakistan; agricultural fields and crops have been damaged. A number of local markets, link roads, connecting bridges and micro-hydro power stations have been reported damaged as well.

As per the latest reports of the Pakistan Meteorological & Hydrological Department, the River Indus at Guddu Barrage is likely to attain a High to very High flood level ranging between 650,000 cusecs to 750,000 cusecs during 1400 PST of August 1st to 2400 PST of August 3rd 2015. It was further added that the flood levels will continue to remain high for the following seven days.

River Indus at Sukkur is also reported to maintain a High to very High flood level ranging between 650,000 cusecs to 750,000 cusecs during 1200 PST of August 2nd to 2400PST of August 4th2015. Flood levels will remain high for the next seven days in this region as well.

Unceasing heavy monsoon showers are expected in the coming days across Pakistan and a further increase in the water levels in Kabul, Indus, Jhelum and Chenab Rivers may intensify the flooding in Sindh. The Director General of the Meteorological Department still maintains as per his earlier message that India is also likely to release excess water from its dams in the following days which can upsurge flooding in the low-lying areas of Pakistan also. The authorities have warned of massive destruction in interior Sindh in the subsequent weeks as flood water from all of over the country will pass through catchment districts of Indus River in the Southern province.

The impact of the latest flash floods on different provinces of Pakistan are indicated briefly below:

SINDH
No. of Casualties People injured Houses Damaged Villages Affected Total affected population
16 -* -* 1,423 281, 921
* No definite number available yetThe affected communities displaced are forced to live in tents and under the open sky or on embankments and elevated places in the affected districts. The government has established relief camps at various embankments for the affected people however people have been reported to prefer to live in open spaces instead. The provincial government together with the Pakistan Army is providing rescue and evacuation services to the flood affected communities and villages.
KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA (KPK)
No. of Casualties People injured Houses Damaged Villages Affected Total affected population
73 31 348 292 -*
* No definite number available yetChitral is the worst affected district in KPK province. Majority of the villages have lost land-connections that they had between major cities as link roads and connecting bridges, micro-hydro power stations have been severely damaged. The Government has distributed relief items including tents among the displaced families and has also announced a cash compensation of PKR. 0.5 Million for each affected family that has lost their house in the floods in Chitral.
GILGIT BALTISTAN
No. of Casualties People injured Houses Damaged Villages Affected Total affected population
5 2 653 175 136,000
* No definite number available yetGhizar, Astor, Skardu and Hunza districts have been reported to be severely damaged. A number of roads and connecting bridges have been washed away that has left many villages disconnected from the main towns. 
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)
No. of Casualties People injured Houses Damaged Villages Affected Total affected population
20 8 189 -* -*
* No definite number available yetDistrict Sudhnoti, Neelam, Havaili and Bhimber have been reported to affect by the rains and flash floods.
Punjab
No. of Casualties People injured Houses Damaged Villages Affected Total affected population
22 4 553 466 334, 353
Villages in Mianwali, Layyah, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Rahimyarkhan and Muzaffargarh districts are most severely swamped by the flood water of River Sindh.  Out of the total affected population in Punjab, 59250 are reported to be living in 27 relief camps established by the Government.  Crop fields spread across 233,688 acres of land have been totally destroyed.
Baluchistan
No. of Casualties People injured Houses Damaged Villages Affected Total affected population
10 24 620 -* -*
* No definite number available yetHeavy rainfall, windstorms has affected Districts Zhob, Kohlu and Dera Bugti with flooding. Flood protection walls, electricity poles and links roads have been damaged while trees and plants have been uprooted as well. High flood levels in Guddu and Taunsa barrages are posing a probable threat to more districts of Baluchistan.
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)
A number of villages and houses have been reported to be damaged in Khyber and Mohamand agencies of Federally Administered Tribal Areas. However, exact figures have yet to be reported by the authorities and national media.

Response by Community World Service Asia: Community World Service Asia’s Disaster Response Team are present in KPK, Sindh and Punjab provinces as well as in Azad Jammu & Kashmir. Sindh, positioned on the tail-end of Indus River, is one of the most flood-prone provinces. A number of districts in Sindh are already severely affected and thousands of people are in dire need of immediate food, NFI and health assistance. Community World Service Asia has been able to assist 100 most vulnerable flood affected families in district Ghotki with provision of one month food rations.  One month food ration among another 827 families will be distributed in the coming weeks.

Contacts:
Allan A. Calma
Deputy Director
Disaster Management Program
Email: allan.calma@communityworldservice.asia
Cell: +92 301 5801621

Muhammad Fazal
Associate Director
Emergencies/DRR/Climate Change
Email: fazil.sardar@communitryworldservice.asia
Cell: +92 332 5586134

Palwashay Arbab
Head of Communications
Email: palwashay.arbab@communityworldservice.asia
Cell: +92 42 3586 5338

Sources:
www.ndma.gov.pk
www.pdma.gov.pk
www.tribune.com.pk
www.dailytimes.com.pk
www.express.com.pk

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