Already
vulnerable communities still recovering from the October 2005
earthquake in Pakistan are now reeling from recent widespread
flooding in the country.
The monsoon floods have begun hitting areas devastated by last
year’s disaster in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP)
and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, bringing renewed misery to
quake survivors.
The villagers of Garlat near the NWFP town of Balakot were just
days away from finalizing a water supply system, which they
had constructed with the assistance of the International Federation
and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
They had been relying on the International Federation to truck
water to them for the past eight months and were on the verge
of establishing a constant supply of safe water.
Those hopes have been dashed, at least for now, by the flash
flooding, which tore through the village last week, submerging
the water tank under tonnes of debris and sweeping away piping.
Niaz Muhumad, an International Federation water and sanitation
supervisor, who has worked with the community in Garlat to get
a clean water source, says this latest disaster is a major setback.
“The water system is designed to service 6,700 people,”
he explains. “After the quake hit, the village’s
supply dried up and they had worked incredibly hard to construct
this new water scheme… but despite this new hardship,
they’re already working to clear the debris and get the
system operating as soon as possible.”
Volunteers and staff from the PRCS and the International Federation
are providing the village with water purification tablets as
a short term solution and are assisting with the repairs to
the water supply system.
Further up the valley, in the village of Nawagaran Sobran, there’s
a sense of resignation among the people at having to cope with
yet another disaster.
Umer Zeb surveys the tonnes of shale and mud which have swept
down through his village, making an already tough life even
more difficult.
“We just wish that our house could be the same, but there
are a lot of difficulties and now the floods,” he says.
“But we are brave people and we hope that our lives will
get back to normal as soon as possible,” Umer adds.
With 200 people killed by flooding in the last few days, some
people are just thankful to be alive. Muhammed Khan was rising
for prayers at 4:00am, while his family of seven slept around
him, when a neighbor screamed a warning to get out.
“We grabbed what we could and ran outside,” says
Muhammed. “A short while later, there was a rush of water
and mud…. We lost all of our food and many of our possessions.”
Getting access to affected areas is a logistical headache with
numerous landslides blocking roads and layers of mud where tracks
used to be. Many villages in the mountainous, hilly areas can
only be accessed on foot and even then, it’s a painstaking
trudge through muck, debris and torrents of flood water.
The International Federation and the Pakistan Red Crescent,
which have been operating in quake-affected since last October
are also now responding to the flooding crisis.
In early August, a tragic bridge collapse in Mardan claimed
at least 70 lives and inundated much of the city, where the
Red Crescent’s NWFP provincial branch has been distributing
relief items to around 200 families.
The aid distribution includes tents, food packs, basic kitchen
equipment and water purification tablets. The branch has also
been assisting families in Swat and Charsadda.
Meanwhile, a widespread outbreak of virulent diarrhoea in Batagram
has overwhelmed the local district hospital, which only has
a 37-bed capacity.
The combined resources of the International Federation, PRCS
and the French Red Cross have bolstered the local response by
providing eight doctors, five nurses, three pharmacy dispensers
and two community health promoters. The International Federation
has also supplied health workers with several thousand kilos
of medical supplies, including antibiotics, oral rehydration
solutions, IV drips and disinfectant.
The PRCS and the International Federation are also supplying
tents, hygiene kits and water purification tablets to various
other locations in NWFP.
Particularly vulnerable families, who had yet to fully recover
from the October earthquake, now find themselves in an even
more precarious situation because of the flooding and with winter
just three months away, the situation for some people could
become dire unless they receive ongoing support.
The International Federation is committed to meeting the ongoing
relief needs of the quake survivors within its capacity by providing
them with long-term support.
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The
villagers in Garlat were just days away from being connected
to a regular, clean water supply before devastating floods
left the water tank submerged under debris. (p14447)
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Muhammed
Khan fled with his family in the early hours of the morning
before a mudslide and torrents of water smashed through
his home in Nawagaran Sobran village near Balakot. (p14448)
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Landslides
are a logistical nightmare for communities and relief
agencies, as seen here on the main road between Mansehra
and Balakot. (p14450)
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A
Federation vehicle crawls along the congested road from
Mansehra to Balakot, negotiating landslide rubble and
seas of mud. (p14449)
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All
that remains of what used to be someone’s home in
Sobran village before a landslide swept it away. (p14444)
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