At least 1,500 people are believed to have died in Pakistan thanks to landslides and floods caused by the heaviest monsoon rains in years.
Entire villages have reportedly been washed away and, according to UNICEF, around 3.5 million people – a third of them children – have been affected by the deluge in the north with homes flooded, damaged and destroyed and crops lost.
Experts have said the flooding, which has impacted a third of the country’s 135 districts, is the worst since 1929. Khyber Pakhtunkha (KPK), in the mountains of north-western Pakistan, is the worst-affected province, along with Baluchistan and Punjab.
Aid agencies have already warned of the possibility of waterborne disease outbreaks and more heavy rains are forecast.
The World Health Organization is dispatching medicines and health supplies for treat more than 200,000 people. It says the possibility waterborne diseases, such as diarrhoea and respiratory infections are of concern.
Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, says those who survived the flooding remain at “grave risk”.
“The Pakistani people of this region have been serving as the generous hosts of more than a million Afghan refugees,” he says. “Now is the time for the international community to demonstrate the same kind of solidarity with them.”
World Vision Australia’s Conny Lenneberg says that while some families have already started receiving food and water, the scale of the flooding is immense.
“Roads have been washed away, and there is no communication. Those houses still standing are uninhabitable – they are full of mud. Heavy machinery is needed for a major cleanup operation.”
Echoing concerns about the spread of waterborne diseases, Ms Lenneberg added that the relief effort was being hampered by ongoing rainfall as well as the destroyed and damaged infrastructure.
“We are also concerned about long-term food security, due to crops and livestock destroyed this year. With irrigation canals destroyed or damaged, next year’s crop is at risk too.”
Martin Mogwanja, UNICEF representative in Pakistan, has suggested it will take at least three to six months just to restore basic facilities that have been destroyed.
The Australian Government, meanwhile, had announced it will provide $5 million in assistance.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
The following agencies are among those running appeals:
Act for Peace:
Phone 1800 025 101 or see www.actforpeace.org.au
Australian Red Cross:
Phone 1800 811 700 or see www.redcross.org.au
OM Australia
Phone (03) 9898 98348 or see www.om.org.au
Oxfam Australia:
Phone 1800 034 034 or see www.oxfam.org.au
Save The Children:
Phone 1800 760 011 or see www.savethechildren.org.au
World Vision Australia:
Phone 13 32 40 or see www.worldvision.com.au
