News : Pakistan

Enormous floods devastates Pakistan – Tearfund responds – 4 Aug 2010

Tearfund’s local partner organisations in Pakistan were in a position to immediately assist those affected by monsoon flooding. Heavy rains in northern Pakistan have caused floods which have killed at least 1,600 people and affected 12 million people, leaving hundreds of thousands injured and homeless. Tearfund’s partner SSEWA-PAK have started to distribute food and essential non-food items to families most urgently affected by the floods.

A state of emergency has been declared by the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) after days of rain caused widespread devastation, in some places sweeping entire villages away. The flood is now passing through Punjab and moving towards the Sind region, where people have already been asked to evacuate.

Roads, bridges, crops and livestock have been destroyed as rivers have burst their banks and inundated vast areas, with Balochistan in the south west and Punjab also affected.

Ashraf Mall, Tearfund’s Country Representative for Pakistan, said:
‘It’s one of the biggest floods in the history of Pakistan. People need food immediately as they have lost their homes and possessions.

‘But it is not proving easy to respond to this emergency. Bridges and roads have been destroyed and the disruption of transport and communication links is making assessments difficult, with many survivors effectively cut off from outside help.’

Tearfund have released emergency funds to support local partners to support people affected by the flooding, and particularly to minimise the impact of floods on the areas of southern Punjab and Sind when the water reaches there. Donate now to support those in need in Pakistan. Download
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All photos: Ashraf Mall/Tearfund

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