4.2 million people including 1,464,528 children have been affected by flooding in Pakistan since 25 August 2020.
The sixth spell of monsoon rain in Pakistan started on August 25, 2020 and continued till August 27, 2020 breaking the 89-year-old record after a 345mm downpour was recorded in Sindh province. Flood emergency has been declared by the government as heavy rainfall inundates Karachi and other parts of Sindh province including Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Shaheed Benazirabad, Dadu, Tharparker Nagarparker, Mirpurkhas, Islam Kot, Umer Kot, Sanghar, Sukkur and Larkana.
According to the National Management Disaster Authority (NDMA) situational report, major losses to human lives and property include over 106 deaths including 47 children with 52 people and 10 children seriously injured overall. According to the Rapid Needs Assessment conducted in Karachi, the heavy rain spell has affected 4,184,366 individuals (1,464,528 children and 1,332,721 women) in six districts of Karachi. Additionally, 181,274 individuals (63,446 children and 57,736 women) and 35,681 households have been affected in district Dadu according to the Dadu District Management Consortium (DDMC) while the preliminary assessments in Umerkot, Tharparkar and other areas are being carried out. More than 181 villages are badly affected in Kachoo area of district Dadu, and their houses are destroyed, in addition to livestock and infrastructural loss. In district Umerkot, heavy rainfall has resulted damage in Katcha houses (mud houses) where all the barrage areas are underwater and approximately 55 percent of the mud houses 40 percent of the standing crops are damaged, making people prone to diseases outbreak and survival issues.
Though the rescue operation has been initiated by the Government of Pakistan with support from Pakistan Army as many people have been rescued who were surrounded by flood water in their houses however, food, medical, drinking water, shelter and other usable items are required for survival urgently in relief phase. District authority has accommodated many displaced houses in their school building and more than 400 families have been shifted in Mono Technical Institute in Umerkot. In order to meet the emergency situation, all principals and other teaching and non-teaching staff has been directed by the district authority to remain in their school and make necessary arrangement to rescue rain affected people and provide them residency in school premises.
People of these areas are waiting for immediate response as among the most badly affected are particularly children, women, pregnant/lactation ladies, old age and disable people. Because of the open defecation practices; community is prone to diseases and is at risk, especially in makeshift shelters developed by displaced communities. Children and women have no proper foot protection/shoes and in standing water or muddy tracks they have to walk, so these are vulnerable to thorn/snake or insect bite. However, the situation can escalate at larger scale as Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on August 29, 2020 has issued an alert[iv] predicting more heavy spells in Sindh and Baluchistan province from August 30, 2020 to September 1, 2020, aggravating the existing urban flooding and water logging in Lower Sindh.
Humanitarian Advisors will continue to monitor and report on the humanitarian situation in Sindh Province in Pakistan.