July 2, 2007, Islamabad, Pakistan - Initial assessments by one of the first international humanitarian agencies to enter into Turbat and some of the worst-affected areas of Balochistan reveal the depth of devastation and threat of water-borne illness caused by days of consistent heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding in southern Pakistan.

For the past week, access to this area had been virtually impossible without helicopters due to the destruction of a major bridge that connects Turbat to the country's major highway and cities. Today was the first day people were allowed to cross the river either on foot or in large vehicles, which is how Catholic Relief Services (CRS) - as part of a team with Oxfam, Save the Children, Concern, and Church World Service -- reached the area for a joint-assessment effort.

"Today we reached a village of five hundred or more families, and where all of the houses are just under the mud. We can not walk too much in the mud. It made me think of the earthquake where all of the houses had become rubble, when you couldn't find a standing house. I get the same feeling here. People would tell us there were houses here, and you could not see a single sign of that house," said Gul Wali Khan, CRS Pakistan's emergency director.

The damage across the coastal area is due to high winds, flash floods and the overflow of the Mirani dam in Turbat from last week's cyclone. Some areas have been cut off for several days and are without water and electricity.

CRS teams estimate that 5,000 families in the district of Thatta (in Sindh) are in need of vital emergency support; the estimate is more than double that for the worst-affected areas of Balochistan where floods have swept away thousands of mud homes. The most critical emergency relief items needed are shelter, clean water, food, hygiene kits, and medical supplies.

"Some of the villages where we went yesterday had a bad smell. We learned a lot of livestock is buried under that mud. This is particularly dangerous because of the potential for it to lead to a cholera outbreak. Water sources have been destroyed in these areas, so people are forced to get their water from the nearby river," said Khan.

In the agency's assessments, people described growing numbers of skin irritations and gastro-infections. CRS plans to include a health and hygiene training with the kits for prevention of disease outbreak. Relief items will include water cans and water purifiers.

With the rains and impending monsoon, shelter needs are critical. In some places, people are living outside their damaged homes on their own land; others have moved to a nearby school or community center.

"Some of the community members are living under an open sky, under the shade of trees. There are many clouds and the rains have started. The people who are in the open are completely exposed to the rain. And now we are expecting the monsoon to be starting," said Khan.

For transitional shelter, people will receive plastic sheets and bamboo poles due to the unsuitability of tents in such extreme heat. Most of the destroyed houses were made of mud bricks with wooden roofing topped off with straw, and were easily washed away under large amounts of water.

Though initiatives to repair houses are underway by some families, CRS anticipates people will need added support to make the houses safe and to secure family assets in preparation for the upcoming monsoon season.

Khan added that the extreme heat, and lack of electricity even in the city of Tulbat, added to the challenges of responding in the area.

For information, contact Caroline Brennan with CRS in South Asia at +91.93.50.96.79.99 / cbrennan@crsindia.org or Kat Burnside in the U.S. at 410-951-7507 / kburnsid@crs.org.

CRS has been working in Pakistan since 1951.