Floodwaters continue to submerge villages in Sindh, recent reports state that the kutcha area of Khanpur near Kotri has been inundated. The nation’s massive flooding has destroyed about 3.5 million houses in different parts of the four provinces. It seems clear that the crisis may further deepen as the waters are yet to recede. At the same time, both local and international NGOs and government departments continue efforts to confront the numerous challenges posed by the floods. Medium and long-term planned interventions are underway with the hopes that the flood waters will recede.

Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan's intervention in flood affected areas of Pakistan.

Humanitarian efforts have evolved over the years. From simple generosity of helping those in need, humanitarian efforts on a global level have become intricate with many factors such as the amount of funds, the types of aid, and how aid reaches communities in need. The process of providing relief during emergencies needs to be efficient and appropriate to the needs of those communities requiring assistance. However, it is not always these priorities that drive relief efforts. In attempts to help, governments and organizations are capable of not giving aid to those who need it most, not providing the right type of relief, creating or worsening local conflicts, and misappropriation of funds and other resources.

On August 21, nineteen of 23 districts in Sindh were announced as calamity-hit regions by the provincial government as the flood waters posed serious threats to Hyderabad and Thatta. About 150,000 people were forced to move to higher ground as floodwaters submerged more towns and villages.

In the next 24-28 hours, River Indus is likely to sustain exceptionally high flood level at Sukkhur Barrage. The mighty Indus is flowing in very-high-flood with rising trend at Kotri Barrage and likely to attain exceptionally high-flood level of 800,000 cusecs, during next 12-24 hrs.

Food Aid Distribution in Sibi, Balochistan from CWS Pakistan/Afghanistan on Vimeo.

Church World Service - Pakistan/Afghanistan distributes food aid to flood-affected families in Sibi, Balochistan.

The magnitude of the devastation caused by the floods has created unprecedented challenges for humanitarian efforts. As communication lines remain disrupted and poor weather conditions hamper relief activities, concerns grow for additional flood waters. While many people still remain without food, shelter, water, and medication, some estimates suggest that one-fifth of Pakistan is flooded.

As the initial floodwaters continue to move south – only to be replaced by unrelenting new surges – the Pakistani government and the humanitarian community grapple with the worst natural disaster in Pakistan’s history. And while the international community has been moderately quick to commit some initial funds to support the millions of affected, no where near enough money has been pledged or committed to meet the numbingly escalating needs across all four of Pakistan’s provinces.

With the death tolls above 1,500 and the floods now already in Sindh Province, recovery efforts remain underway. The floods have caused huge destruction in the provinces of Khyber Paktunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab including areas of Azad Jammu Kashmir while areas along the Indus in Sindh are expected to be badly damaged in the days ahead.

The worst floods in 80 years pose life-threatening consequences to the people in Khyber Paktunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Jammu Kashmir, Punjab, and Sindh.  So far, an estimated three million people are affected; this figure could increase by another one million as the floods reach Sindh Province.

As the floodwaters continue to pose severe threats to the people of Khyber Paktunkhwa, Balochistan, and Punjab, the death toll has reached 1,400 in the province of Khyber Paktunkhwa alone. Bannu, Lakki Marwat areas, Nowshera, and Charsadda especially are reported to be severely affected.  The flash floods have claimed 60 lives in Balochistan while violent waves of the Indus River have surged into Kot Addu in Muzaffargarh where heavy rains are expected in southern and western Punjab.

The recent monsoon rainfalls combined with flash foods have left thousands of people displaced in the three provinces of Pakistan. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in Khyber Paktunkhwa recorded 500,600 displacements in the province with 774 reported deaths. While in Balochistan the reported figures have been 19 deaths with 3900 damaged houses in the surrounding districts of Sibi, Barkhan, Kohlu, and Naseerabad. Hundreds of villages in Punjab have been devastated with extensive damage to crops in D. I. Khan.

Al Jazeera Interview

FSN World News Interview

One of the worst flooding in Pakistan’s history was recorded on August 1, 2010 with the death toll reaching 1000 in Khyber Paktunkwa alone. The three provinces of Baluchistan, Khyber Paktunkwa, and Punjab as well as AJK & Gilgit Baltistan have experienced widespread destruction.

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ISLAMABAD, July 31 – For millions of Pakistanis, floods during monsoon season are nothing new. But the scale and magnitude of this year’s floods are far greater, resulting in tragic and deadly results, reports Pakistan-based staff of global humanitarian organization Church World Service.

At least 800 persons have died in floods during the last week; provincial government officials are asking for international assistance as the scale of this disaster appears to be beyond the capacity of the government of Pakistan to respond alone.

As part of relief efforts, CWS Pakistan/Afghanistan staff members are distributing food packages and shelter material such as plastic sheeting for flood-affected families in Balochistan and in Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. CWS has also mobilized a mobile health unit to provide emergency medical assistance in Mansehra.  Additional mobile health units will soon be dispatched to cover areas such as Kohistan, Swat and Balakot.

The situation in the provinces of Kyber Paktunkhwa, Punjab and Balcohistan has worsened as 400,000 to 500,000 cusecs of water discharged from the overflowing Tarbela reservoir have destroyed houses, bridge, livestock and subsistence. A total of 521 deaths have been reported and around 185,000 families affected. In Kyber Paktunkwa 40 roads and 111 bridges have been damaged which have made the cities of Peshawar, Swat, Shangla and Kohistan inaccessible.