Daily Update of Torrential Rain and Flood situation across the country – August 23, 2010 at 9:45 pm

• January 28, 2013
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Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO)

Daily Assessment Updates on Torrential Rain and Flood Situation in Pakistan

August 23, 2010

Overview:

Over the course of July and early August 2010, Pakistan experienced the worst monsoon-related floods in living memory. Heavy rainfall, flash floods and riverine floods have devastated large parts of Pakistan since the arrival of seasonal monsoon rains on 22 July, 2010. Latest estimates indicate that around 20 million people have been affected by the floods. Assessments are ongoing to ascertain the scale of damages in the affected areas. The official death toll has risen to 1,343, with 1,588 people now reported as injured. The latest NDMA report indicates that over 722,000 houses have been either damaged or destroyed. But the figures may rise further as information from different parts is yet to come.

Details damage assessment is going on across Sindh and Southern Punjab by UN-OCHA and SPO is also part of joint assessment in Sindh. Data currently available indicates that Shikarpur, Kashmore, Jacobabad, Khairpur, Dadu and Naushahro Feroze have been the hardest hit districts in Sindh. Similarly, districts Layyah, D.G. Khan, Muzzafargarh and Rajanpur are hardest hit districts in southern Punjab.

The flood wave continues to make its way through the southern province of Sindh, where millions have been affected from the combined impact of torrential rains and unprecedented water levels in the rivers.

Through rapid assessments, humanitarian agencies are identifying desperate needs of affected communities  and so far identified desperate needs include: food, clean drinking water and purification materials, emergency health services, tents and shelter kits, cooking sets, mosquito nets, and other non-food items (NFI).

In order to facilitate coordinated humanitarian response in the affected areas and enable humanitarian organizations to have substantial planning for their humanitarian activities, SPO, with the support of its partner organizations, initiated rapid assessments in the affected areas and share it with relevant stakeholders in the form of daily update. Date-wise situational update and rapid assessments of damages caused by torrential rains and floods are available on SPO website and can be accessed on URL http://www.spopk.org.

Daily update for 23rd August 2010, providing details of SPO’s response to the emergency situation and relief activities being carried out for mitigation of the miseries of affected communities across the country, is provided below:

SPO intervention in Flood affected areas till August 23, 2010

Keeping in view the essential needs of displaced communities, SPO teams besides coordination of humanitarian efforts at Provincial levels in Baluchistan -Quetta, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Peshawar and AJK – Muzafarabad, have initiated various humanitarian interventions. Hither to following activities have been carried out and reported:

Sindh Province:

Relief Camp at Boys Degree College Qasimabad

SPO Hyderabad has established a relief camp at Boys Degree College, Qasimabad. The camp is accommodating 441 individuals from the flood affected districts of upper Sindh. SPO Hyderabad, with the support of partner organizations and individual philanthropists, is providing 3 times food, NFI and medical services at this camp since camps establishment on 17th August 2010. .

SPO Hyderabad team members; Ms. Shazia Junejo; Program Specialist and Mr. Shafique Ahmed Kandhro; Program Officers are managing the affairs of Relief Camp. They are also leading resource mobilization drive to meet the needs of camp residence.

The camp was visited by GEO news channel team and they prepared documentary on this camp which was aired on 21 August, 2010. Numbers of meetings are conducted with other civil society organizations and district government for resource and service mobilization.  Planning is in process to conduct classes for children at camp along with the awareness sessions for women specifically on health and hygiene. In order provide recreational activities for youth, sports activities for the children will also be started within a couple of day.

Following is the consolidated status of the mobilized resources;

Punjab Province:

SPO Multan has collected information related damage assessment from the office District Disaster Management Rajanpur, and same is shared herewith for the use of humanitarian organization planning their humanitarian response in the area.

DISTRICT RAJANPUR

Updated as on 19 August, 2010 at 10:00 am