Flooding devastates Pakistan
 Photo Essay: Nearly 400,000 displaced by floods
POSTED: July 30, 2007
Field Report
By David Darg
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This family, like many others, is living on just a sliver of their land. They have no shelter from the intense sun or ongoing rain showers.
A husband and wife huddle under their bed for shade during the day. Flooding has displaced more than 377,000 people and destroyed a total of 80,000 houses.
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Below is a field report by OBI’s David Darg, who is on-scene in Pakistan assisting with relief efforts for flood victims.
BALUCHISTAN, Pakistan - As I prepared to leave for Pakistan last week my friends in England joked with me, "Why go there when we have enough flooding to deal with here?" they jeered.
Despite the devastating scenes in Britain, each of them understood why I was leaving for a similar disaster thousands of miles away. One after the other, the floods in Asia are sweeping the continent, with Pakistan taking the brunt of the worst.
In the middle of June, Cyclone Yemyin began drawing up water from the Arabian Sea and headed straight for Pakistan. On June 23, the storm made landfall and released torrents of rain over Baluchistan and Sindh provinces for four days.
The resulting flooding claimed the lives of 319 people with 224 still missing. More than 377,000 people have been displaced and a total of 80,000 houses were destroyed in Baluchistan and Sindh alone. In total, 2.5 million people have been impacted by this disaster.
I arrived in the flood zone to join a team led by our German partner agency, Humedica. In the last month, Operation Blessing and Humedica have been providing shelter kits to flood victims.
With thousands left homeless, shelter is a priority need for the suffering population. Scores of families are camping along roadsides under the scorching sun in temperatures approaching 122 degrees.
In many areas, the elevated roads are still the only land not submerged by floodwaters. During my first day on the ground, I was shocked to walk mile after mile of road flanked on either side by sick children sitting amongst the few belongings that their family were able to salvage as they fled. With the monsoon season fast approaching, a lack of shelter will only compound the misery.
The first day of rain was so intense that it sent alarm bells ringing while hundreds of Pakistani Rangers evacuated people from low lying areas.
This is not the first time that the region has seen massive flooding. In 1994, the area was so heavily inundated that the flood defense barrier close to the Baluchi/Sindh border was tested to its limit.
This time, however, Cyclone Yemyin took the barrier beyond its limit. The Pakistani Rangers have been providing security during our distributions and have been one of the most cooperative and helpful groups that I have ever had the pleasure of working with.
One Major I spoke with was part of the evacuation operation.
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A Pakistani Ranger talks to a group of villagers living on a flood barrier. The Rangers have been providing OBI’s disaster relief teams with vital security and logistical support.
A father and his sons take shelter from the intense sun.
His two young boys are sick with diarrhea.
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"We warned people that more water was coming," he said in angst.
The Rangers succeeded in getting thousands of people to higher ground and to towns out of harms way. But they had no mandate to force villagers from their homes, and, during the final night of rain, the floods breached the 12-foot defense barrier in more than forty places and hundreds of people and animals were swept away.
The water has begun to recede in some areas, leaving behind the evidence of that disastrous night. Animal carcasses lie in pools of filthy water and fields where crops once grew are now ponds of mud strewn with the remains of farmer's homes.
Rice is the main crop grown in the region and the loss of this harvest will be devastating. But even worse, is the destruction of the intricate network of irrigation channels and furrows that is so vital for rice production. With so much work needed to resurrect the agricultural infrastructure, there are fears for the next harvest and beyond.
It is clear that the worst is not over.
As hunger and sickness become prominent problems, Operation Blessing and Humedica have secured a grant from the German government and are readjusting to add vital items to our shelter distributions. Rice and milk powder for hunger, soap for hygiene and skin diseases and nets to protect against a surging plague of mosquitoes and malaria.
But the numbers of people still in need are staggering and there are fears that attention to this disaster is waning too soon. My Ranger friend estimates another 30 days before the waters fully recede.
It seems that the flood barrier designed to keep floods out is also quite effective at keeping water in. In some places the water reached a depth of 14 feet, and now, more than a month later, the water level in many places is still six feet.
I stood on the earthen barrier and looked out over the floodwaters that stretched for as far as I could see. The wind picked up and sent small waves crashing. Had it not been for trees poking their tops out of the water, I could have been on the shore of a great ocean.
Similar ‘oceans' have been forming all over Asia as the region goes through some of the worst weather since records began. Unlike the earthquake of 2005, where humanitarian agencies were focused on helping Pakistan recover, the victims of Pakistan‘s floods are having to share the spotlight with their flooded neighbors throughout the continent.
The heat does not faze me and I feel safe under the protection of the Rangers, but I am afraid that the floodwaters of Asia, and even England, have diluted international response to each individual flood disaster.
The Pakistan flood victims need more help than they are receiving and the disaster is far from over.
How You Can Help
You can take part in helping Pakistan's displaced families and other victims of disasters by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief programs. With your support, OBI can continue to provide food, medical care and more to thousands of hurting people.
Please make an on-line donation today. Your donation will help us continue to provide lifesaving care to those who need it most.
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