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Alert: Pakistan
Monsoon Flooding in Pakistan
Geneva, 24 July 2015
Monsoon rains started in the third week of July, 2015 and have created chaos in different parts of Pakistan. The worst affected district is Chitral of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) where torrential rain along with the water from melting glaciers has disrupted the daily life of the population.
Chitral District of KP and Ghanche District of Gilgit Baltistan are the worst affected areas. In Chitral, approximately 285,000 are affected and there are 3 reported fatalities. 145 houses have been completely destroyed while 32 houses have been partially damaged. In Gilgit Baltistan, Astore, Djamir Chanche, Ghizer, Gilgit, Hunza Nagar and Skardu districts have been severely affected with 166 houses damaged, as reported by UN OCHA. Dozens of link roads, major bridges connecting valleys and villages, crops and fruit orchards have been swept away in the gushing waters in both districts. At least 244 villages of Mianwali, Layyah, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Rahimyarkhan and Muzaffargarh districts have been inundated by the flood waters of the Sindh River.
Thousands of acres of crops have been completely destroyed. Around 150 villages have been flooded in Ghotki, Kashmore and Sukkur. 100,000 people have been affected in Kandhkot/Kashmore areas of Sindh province.
There are also reports of flooding from Barkhan, Harnai, Musakhel and Killa Saifullah but no details have been received so far. According to the MET Department, Gudda and Sukkur barrage is expected to be heavily flooded by 24 and 25 July. More rains are also expected that will directly affect the southern districts of Pakistan (southern Sindh).
The extent of current damage is huge and, with the continuous rains, it is anticipated that it will worsen significantly in the near future. Relief assistance that has been provided so far is insufficient and most of the unattended affected people will remain at high risk requiring immediate lifesaving assistance.
So far provincial and district disaster management authorities along with the Pakistan Army have been carrying out search and rescue operations and providing relief assistance to the affected people. The Government has announced PKR 500,000 (around US$4,900) for each severely affected household. Furthermore the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has distributed tents, kitchen and hygiene kits, mosquito nets and blankets to 29 flood affected families in Chitral district. The KP government has transported 20 tons of food packs to Chitral. In Punjab province, the Government has established 120 relief camps in six districts. Each camp can accommodate 500 people. 6,000 tents and 10,000 food packs have been distributed so far. Sindh government has established relief and health camps and livestock facilities at various embankments however, no relocation has taken place so far.
ACT Pakistan Forum has been gathering information and mobilizing partners on the ground to consolidate more accurate data. The Forum has also prepared an Emergency Response PreparednessPlan which elaborates on how the Pakistan Forum will respond should the situation further deteriorate and require an intervention. An RRF response or appeal is foreseen.
ACT Pakistan Forum will continue to monitor the situation and coordinate with government agencies, the UN, NGOs and other stakeholders on the ground. Depending on the needs assessment, food, non-food, shelter, potable water and sanitation are planned.
Potential access constraints are expected considering the forecasted levels of flooding. The lack of funding or delayed response to funding will also extremely limit ACT Pakistan Forum’s ability to respond.
ACT Pakistan Forum is a shared platform composed of Community World Service Asia, Diakonie
Katastrophenhilfe (DKH) and Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) Pakistan, who are the members of ACT
Alliance presently based in Pakistan and Christian Aid, Church of Sweden and ICCO Cooperation, who
are supporting programs in Pakistan from abroad.
Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to the Head of Finance and Administration, Line Hempel (Line.Hempel@actalliance.org).
For further information please contact:
ACT Regional Programme Officer, Asia, Gaby Bartholomew (gdb@actalliance.org)
ACT Web Site address: http://www.actalliance.org
