New wave of floodwater threatens Pakistan

Ban Ki-moon: 'I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this.' Photograph: Mk Chaudhry/EPA
The spectacular remains of a 5,000-year-old city and the grandiose mausoleum where the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto is buried are directly in the path of the rampaging floods in Pakistan, officials have warned.

The floods swallowed up fresh areas of Pakistan over the weekend, as the government said 20 million people were now affected by the disaster. A case of cholera was confirmed, raising the spectre of an outbreak of the disease, with thousands of those affected by the floods showing the symptoms of acute watery diarrhoea.

A new tide of floodwater was reported at Sukkur, in the southern province of Sindh, as the deluge from fresh rain in the north reached lower regions of the country.

Today the president, Asif Ali Zardari, said a two-year campaign was required to deal with the damage, while the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, after flying in to visit ravaged areas, said he had never seen such devastation.

"This has been a heart-wrenching day for me. I will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed today. In the past I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this.

"I'm here to send a message to the world: these unprecedented floods require an unprecedented response. The world must stand with the people of Pakistan."

The floodwaters are now at the town of Larkana, in Sindh, threatening the nearby Bhutto family mausoleum, a huge marble structure topped with domes. Also at risk is the sprawling Mohenjo-daro, one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus valley civilisation, a Unesco world heritage site built around 2,500BC.

Rediscovered in 1922, Mohenjo-daro was one of the most sophisticated cities of its time. The water is closing in from the river Indus and from a breach in an irrigation canal further north.

The Bhutto mausoleum, which resembles the Taj Mahal and can be seen from miles around, is in the village of Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, a place of political and religious pilgrimage. It contains the remains of Benazir Bhutto, assassinated by Islamic extremists in 2007, her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan's first elected PM who was hanged by a military dictatorship in 1977, and her two murdered brothers.

"Unfortunately the water is going in that direction [towards Garhi Khuda Bakhsh and Mohenjo-daro]," the Sindh provincial irrigation minister, Saifullah Dharejo, said. "We'll try everything possible to save these sites."

Today the flood waters spread further from the Indus, drowning the town of Dera Allah Yar and the surrounding area in the Jaffarabad district of Baluchistan province, which had been inhabited by about 300,000 people. The area was said to be under 6ft of water.

The Dera Allah Yar situation highlighted internal tensions over the floods. There were claims that authorities across the provincial border in Sindh had deliberately diverted water towards Baluchistan, leading to an armed confrontation between officials and tribesmen of the two provinces.

The government and opposition joined hands over the weekend, saying they would put politics aside to fight the calamity together. The move could help stave off rumours that the military is considering intervening to overthrow Zardari's government in the face of the crisis.

A neutral commission is to be set up, headed by people whom the public are expected to have confidence in, to manage the crisis and raise money from within the country. Pakistanis are reluctant to contribute to government-run aid efforts, fearing that the funds will be siphoned off through corruption.

The floods have left 6 million people facing starvation. The UN said 875,000 homes had been damaged or destroyed. Many areas had all their crops washed away. It is thought 1,600 people have been killed. The death toll could rise rapidly from disease and hunger. Anecdotal evidence is surfacing of young children dying from diarrhoea and malnutrition.

Pakistan floods 'heart-wrenching' Ban Ki-moon

The government of Pakistan says up to 20 million people have now been affected by the monsoon floods. At least 1,500 are known to have lost their lives.
Health experts are warning that the threat of epidemics in flood-hit areas is growing rapidly.
"This has been a heart-wrenching day for me and for my delegation," Mr Ban said at a press conference, stood alongside President Zardari.
"I will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed today. In the past I have seen scenes of natural disaster around the world, but nothing like this. The scale of this disaster is so large. So many people in so many places in so much need."
He announced a further $10m from the UN's central emergency response fund, making a total of $27m from the fund so far, and repeated his calls for the international community to come to Pakistan's aid.
"The people of Pakistan need food, emergency shelters, medicines, clean water," he said. "We are all deeply concerned about the spread of diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases. All our combined medical capacity will be needed to provide the right drugs and care."
The flooding began more than two weeks ago in the mountainous north-west of Pakistan and has swept south across a quarter of the country including its agricultural heartland.
The International Monetary Fund has warned that the floods could have dire long-term economic consequences for a country already reliant on foreign aid.
On Wednesday the UN launched a $459m (£294m) appeal for emergency aid for Pakistan. It said that billions of dollars would be needed in the long term.
The US has already donated at least $70m to the country, which is a key regional ally in fighting terrorism.

Other disasters seen by Ban Ki-moon
• 2005 tsunami killed nearly a quarter of a million people in 13 countries
• Earthquake centred in Northern Pakistan and state of Kashmir in 2005 killed more than 79,000 people
• Cyclone Nargis in 2008, killed about 140,000 people in Burma
• Chilean earthquake in February 2010 killed almost 500 people
• Haiti earthquake in January 2010 killed more than 200,000 people
• Earthquake in Qinghai province, China, in April 2010 killed more than 2,000 people

Appeal for Medicines

Water borne diseases are going to be a major threat in next few days. The medicines for Diarrhea, Vomiting, Fever, Malaria and Skin infection etc are required urgently. Especially the Gastrointestinal diseases may cause a huge trouble.

Devastating Floods in Pakistan

Recent floods occurred after heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan. More than 1200 people have been killed, thousands are rendered homeless and 1.6 million have been affected. Our team that returned back from Noshehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on 31st July, reported that recent flood is the worst natural disaster in that area since more than 275,000 people have still been stranded there. Many are compelled to stay at the roof tops of their homes due to the fear of another wave of water which has been released from Warsak dam. They are anxiously waiting to be evacuated. Today (1st August) was actually the first day of rescue and relief efforts. Three army helicopters and four small boats were used to evacuate the victims of floods. Those who left their homes during the torrential rains have also been waiting for help at higher places. The routine life has been distressed, enormously since there is no electricity, no clean drinking water or food items are available. Besides those who are trapped in the city have no access to communication too because telephone exchange is out of order and those who have cell phones are unable to recharge the batteries due to absence of electricity. Some people claimed to see dead bodies floating in the streets of flooded Noshehra. A resident of Noshehra named Ajmair Shah lost his daughter during the flood. Most of his belongings and household items has either been destroyed or swept off. He is living out in the open sky for last three days along with 19 other relatives.

Almost 200 families have been provided with temporary shelter at Government College of Technology. Many families narrate the same stories like Ajmair Shah. The philanthropists from the nearby cities like Islamabad, Attock and Rawalpindi started providing them with cooked food this evening for the first time. The majority of affected people have no utensils to obtain food so they used polythene bags. Whilst eating food they have been drinking contaminated flood water. There is an urgent need of Jerry Cans, Tents, Utensils, Mosquito Nets, Clothing and thin Blankets etc.

Besides, there are sick and traumatized children, men and women who need medical care. Since water borne diseases are going to be a major threat in next few days the medicines for Diarrhea, vomiting, fever, Malaria and skin infection etc are required urgently. Especially the Gastrointestinal diseases may cause a huge trouble.

Yesterday and today Pakistan Relief’s medical team treated patients and distributed blankets for the children as well. Another team of Pakistan Relief’s volunteers distributed 700 food packs that were donated by a restaurant owner of Rwalpindi. So far there is no access to the city but as soon as the flow and level of water will decrease we will attempt to get in to intervene. We have a few small
inflatable rafts but those are not suitable to cope with the aggressive current of Kabul River. The boats/Rafts with engines can be of great help to reach people in need.

We intend to set up a medical camp in the vicinity because there will be huge influx of sick people when water level will decrease. Local coordination hub has been established by Pakistan Army at Military College of Signals Risalpur which is just a couple of miles away from Noshehra. According to a Pakistan Army official, Col. Shahjehan, there was a fierce flood in the same area back in 1925 too but that was measured as 170,000 cusecs. This time it has been measured up to 300,000 cusecs.

There are reports of floods in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Kashmir as well.

More Rains in Flooded Pakistan

The current fierce floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces have left millions of people helpless. At least 1800 people lost their lives. Hundreds of thousands are rendered homeless. The magnitude of this disaster is enormous. We estimate that at least 4 to 5 million people are affected, directly. The monetary losses have become unbearable for the poor communities.

We are receiving phone calls and letters from our members and public living in different parts of the country. Now, some people start weeping when they explain the tragedy they are going through. The floods have badly affected Swat valley, Noshehra, Charsadda, Azakhel, Layyah, Mianwali, Muzaffargarrh, Rajan Pur so far and reportedly 900,000 cusecs of flood water is moving in Southern Punjab and adjacent Sindh. There are reports of heavy floods in Kashmir too. The Neelum Valley and one of our project areas Gurais Valley is still cut off since we haven't received any report from there.

Due to unhygienic conditions in the affected region and lack of clean drinking water, the symptoms of Cholera, Diarrhea and Skin infection are becoming visible now. If carcasses of the animals remained in the streets the health related problems will intensify in next couple of days.

We have been distributing food items and water purification tablets. There is an urgent need of jerry cans, kitchen utensils, stoves and food items. Furthermore we need more medicines to send medical teams in affected areas. It’s a race against time and with a network of experienced volunteers we can make a real difference.

International and national media is giving due coverage to the current disaster yet there are fewer organizations that are responding in the affected region. There is frustration and anxiety because the losses are enormous and aid given to people in need is like peanuts.

Once again our nation is victim of lack of contingency planning and poor emergency response. An early warning system could have saved precious lives. These floods have reminded that there is immense need of disaster prevention and preparedness both at public and government levels.

Since the current disaster has become out of capacity of local organization we invite international NGOs especially Pakistani Doctors and professional living abroad to extend hand of cooperation.

Another series of rains has started and its going to make the current situation overwhelming. The affected people wonder what they will do in Ramadhan without any food and household items. After these floods people of Pakistan may face crisis of food as crops have also been damaged.

Catastrophe, massive than Tsunami

Pakistan has suffered the worst floods for 80 years and at least 2200 people have been killed with 22 million others affected. The crisis is expected to worsen with the forecast of more heavy rains. According to UN the recent floods in Pakistan have caused a sever damage and the catastrophe has proved to be massive than Tsunami. Renewed rain has been hampering relief efforts after the flood of the century in Pakistan. Mass evacuations are under way in the southern province of Sindh after the Indus River rose there.

The intense flooding that began about two weeks ago has washed away roads, bridges and many communications lines, hampering rescue efforts. Incessant monsoon rains have grounded many helicopters trying to rescue people and ferry aid.

Floodwaters receded somewhat on Friday in the north-west, but downpours again swelled rivers and streams.

Pakistani meteorologist Farooq Dar said heavy rains in Afghanistan were expected to make things even worse over the next 36 hours as the bloated Kabul River surged into Pakistan's north-west. That will likely mean more woes for Punjab and Sindh provinces as well, as new river torrents flow east and south.
The United Nations said at least 15 million people had been affected, including 1.5 million severely, meaning their homes had been damaged or destroyed.
UN and Pakistani officials may put the figure much higher after a detailed assessment.

Pakistan Relief continues distribution of Food and NFIs

...of the first phase of the distribution we started the 2nd phase to address the immediate requirements of the people in need in Balochistan and Sindh. The Balochistan province remained bit neglected since only four NGOs i.e. Lands Aid, Pakistan Relief, Turkish Medical Mission and Agha Khan Hospital were responding in an area where 1.2 million people were affected by the devastating floods, either directly or indirectly. In this regard, we have distributed Quilts, Hygiene Kits, Water Coolers and Kitchen Utensils at district Jafarabad, Balochistan. Almost 4,300 families comprising 24,000 individuals have been benefited.

In the thirds phase another 2500 families are going to receive relief goods till the mid of December, 2010. Since harsh winter is around the corner, tens of thousands of families are still looking forward to have shelter, quilts, blankets, and warm clothing.