ACT Situation Report

Pakistan 02/07

Geneva, July 13, 2007

Pakistan storms

Information provided the Pakistan/Afghanistan office of ACT member Church World Service (CWS-P/A)

General situation and ACT response: The death toll continues to rise in Balochistan, in spite of more settled periods of weather. CWS-P/A recently completed a water and sanitation assessment in the region, along with ACT member Norwegian Church Aid. Food kits and plastic sheets will also be distributed this week.

The team focused on damage that resulted in affecting livelihoods, water & sanitation and heath facilities in the area.

All the low lying areas of Turbat have been hit hard. In certain areas, the flood water levels rose as high as eight meters and remained so for some days, wiping out almost all mud houses. In addition to people's homes, the deluge destroyed roads, water systems, electricity, and public buildings.

The team witnessed a severe lack of health services (especially provided by female health staff) and extremely unhygienic environments. Most of the water sources have been contaminated, but through lack of alternatives, many people are still drinking it, resulting in increased incidences of water borne diseases. Other major ailments reported are diarrhea, dysentery, and ARI (Acute Respiratory Track Infection). Malaria is endemic, as well as skin diseases.

Only some ten percent of the private houses of Kosh Kalat remain standing. People have set up spontaneous camps and have managed to salvage a few possessions from the mud, once the water receded. All sanitation facilities (where they existed) have been obliterated. There is only one toilet in the local mosque. Bathing (if any) is done at night in the ponds of residual floodwaters, resulting in skins diseases, which manifest as huge boils and painful lesions. The entire area is currently facing a food shortage, which may potentially lead to extended food aid dependency, as much of the top soil has been stripped down to rocky foundations. The most pressing need is to secure all water sources, especially the few functioning water schemes that weren't destroyed, as well as initiating preventative treatment for malaria.

In Balochistan the number of affected people has increased from 1.1 million to some 2 million, according to official government figures. Additionally, some 5,000 villages have been affected by floods in the province where electricity, water and the communication infrastructure have been severely affected.

In Kane Pusht village in Balochistan, a teacher, Barkat Ali explained that he is the sole income earner for a family which includes his wife, daughter and four sons. His mud house was washed away completely during the June 26 cyclone. "I was sleeping and gradually about 4 feet of water came into my home. We ran to a safe place and at 9:45 pm my home totally collapsed," he explained. "There were three rooms and one washroom. Everything in my home was ruined. Even my documents and my children's books were lost in the water. How will they study without books?"

There has been power since the disaster. Hot weather; mosquitoes, standing water and unhygienic conditions are the biggest problems in the village. Barkat Ali and his family have sought shelter with relatives, but this comes with its own set of pressures and strains.

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ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.