The recent heavy monsoon rains since the end of July in Pakistan have led to widespread flooding on a scale not seen for over 80 years. So far, over 10 million people have been affected and at least 1,600 have been killed. The main affected areas are in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and Punjab provinces, with swollen floodwaters now affecting Sindh. Almost half of the country is now affected with reports suggesting that 252,000 houses have been destroyed or badly damaged. One of HF Pakistan’s doctors on the scene reported today that “the magnitude of devastation is unprecendented. Nearly half of the country is wiped out in one form or another … physically, financially or mentally.”

Humanity First Pakistan is working with the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) and has so far dispatched over 175 tents as well as mattresses, blankets, floor mats, buckets and shoes to support emergency shelter via Islamabad. Over 200 water survival boxes have been provided by WorldWaterWorks and have been dispatched from the UK. The consignments are going to Dera Ismail Khan and Muzaffargarh near Multan. The local team is also preparing packs of non-perishable food to last a month for 1,000 families. The initial response package is for around 6,000 people, but it is expected that the scale of the reponse will need to increase in the next few days.

The situation is dire, and with the swollen water levels, destruction to infrastructure and scale of injuries and illness, there are worries that water-borne disease will start to spread rapidly. Please donate generously through your local HF representatives.