Pakistan: Balochistan urgently needs assistance

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

  • Pakistan floodsA man evacuates his children through waist-deep waters after heavy flooding in Nowshera, located in Pakistan's northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province REUTERS/Adrees Latif courtesy www.alertnet.org
  • Pakistan floodsInamullah, 4, sits amidst furniture left to dry in a flooded courtyard after returning to his house in Nowshera REUTERS/Adrees Latif courtesy www.alertnet.org
  • Pakistan floodsResidents walk past dead livestock after flood waters receded in Nowshera Pakistan REUTERS/Adrees Latif courtesy www.alertnet.org
  • Pakistan floodsArmy soldiers use a boat to evacuate a family through a main road in Nowshera REUTERS/Adrees Latif courtesy www.alertnet.org
  • Pakistan floodsResidents carry their belongings through a flooded road in Risalpur in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province REUTERS/Adrees Latif courtesy www.alertnet.org

Much of Pakistan's western province of Balochistan - mountainous, poor and the least populated of the country's provinces - is largely falling under the relief radar, ACT members say.

Pakistan is experiencing the worst floods in 80 years which have so far killed an estimated 1400 people and affected at least one million people.

Flash floods since July 21 have severely hit three districts of Balochistan. ACT says the people of Balochistan have been left largely forgotten as government departments, media and aid agencies focus on northern areas of the country.

Pakistan’s weather service on Monday forecast widespread rain in the next four days in northeast Balochistan, among other areas.

ACT members working in Pakistan, say that although government-dispatched helicopters have delivered food, water and medicines to otherwise inaccessible areas of Pakistan, that aid was insufficient. Entire Balochistan villages are submerged and hundreds of houses have been washed away.

ACT Response
ACT member Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan has distributed 500 food and shelter kits in Balochistan, Dera Ismail Khan and Khyber Paktunkwa provinces, and 750 more kits are being dispatched. However, the need is much higher. CWS-P/A is appealing to government and aid agencies to supply relief to Sibi and other parts of Balochistan.

CWS-P/A is also providing emergency health care through a mobile health unit in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Two further mobile health units are planned. In addition, CWS-P/A has started identifying beneficiaries for plastic sheeting shelter and other relief. In addition, it is running workshops for other humanitarian organisations on Sphere disaster relief standards and on ensuring the accountability to assisted people.

ACT expects to issue an appeal for flood relief in the next 24 hours.

See the latest ACT situation report here.

ACT Alliance members responding to this emergency are: Church World Service Pakistan/Afghanistan, Norwegian Church Aid, Dan Church Aid and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe.