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Here's a story from our member agency World Vision of how the floods are affecting one family in Pakistan.

Just over a week ago, Nasreen, husband Rasi and their three children lived in a mud house near the river in Mohib Banda, a village in the tehsil (large town) of Pabbi, in Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province (formerly North West Frontier Province). Razi worked as a labourer, and the family owned two cows.

Then monsoon rains of unprecedented levels started to fall and the river began to flood. At 6am one morning as the water rose towards the roof of their home, Nasreen and her family decided to make a dash for the tallest building in their neighbourhood: the local mosque and school.

For three days they crammed together on the rooftop of the school with more than 100 people from houses close to the river, exposed to the elements and waiting to be rescued, or at least for something to eat. After three days on the roof, food supplies were dropped from helicopters and later that day airlifts began to lift people to higher ground, out of the reach of the swirling torrent of mud and water.

Though safer, the conditions at the camp where they have taken refuge are hardly ideal. Nasreen and her children share a classroom at the local high school with about 50 others. Overcrowding is contributing to the stifling, suffocating heat and stench in each of its rooms.

Yesterday, however, they were at least provided with some relief. World Vision began an emergency food distribution in the area, giving out food parcels containing milk, bread, snacks, biscuits and water to more than 7,000 people at the school and in surrounding areas nearby – including Nasreen and her family.

“We have been living on the charity of the locals and the surrounding villages for now,” said Nasreen. “You are the first people who have approached us, and you've given us the food and water with dignity.”

The flooding has receded from the surrounding areas for now, but the mud and debris strewn across the land is like quicksand. Many of the homes – also constructed out of mud – have been washed away. For those families, like Nasreen’s, it won’t be a matter of cleaning up, but of rebuilding. They haven’t yet figured out how to replace the cows and recover their livelihood.

“I don’t know what we will do now,” said Nasreen. “We were poor already and lost whatever we had in the floods; our only shelter and means of income. Where do we go from here? We have nowhere to go.”

The DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal has reached £2.5 million within 12 hours of the first television appeals being broadcast on Thursday evening (6.08.10).

The donations have been especially welcome in the current economic climate. They will help the DEC’s 13 members provide the life support that is desperately needed in Pakistan, where 4.5 million people have already been affected and flood waters are still spreading. 

With bridges down and roads flooded or damaged, aid workers have in some cases tackled the challenging terrain using donkeys, rafts or on foot.  

So far DEC members and their partners have helped 300,000 survivors, providing emergency medical care, clean water, food and shelter.

More than half a million people have been evacuated from the 11 most vulnerable districts in Sindh Province in the south of Pakistan where more people live. A number of villages are already under water in northern Sindh where member agencies are already responding.

The ITV and BBC appeals are being presented by actor Art Malik, who was born in Pakistan, and John McCarthy, journalist and former British hostage in Lebanon. 

Art Malik said: 

“Millions of people’s lives have been turned upside down by this terrible crisis.  Aid is getting through to survivors, including women, children and the elderly, but with your help, much more can be done.

In these difficult times your generosity is very much appreciated. All donations to the Disaster Emergency Committee Appeal, no matter how small, can make a big difference to people’s lives.”

Just £25 will pay for 5,000 chlorine tablets for safe drinking water, £50 will feed two families for a month and £100 will buy an all-weather family tent. 

The money raised through the DEC appeal goes to the member agencies, many of whom have a long history of working in the affected regions. 

To make a donation to the DEC Pakistan appeal, call the 24 hour hotline on 0370 60 60 900, visit http://www.dec.org.uk or donate over the counter at any post office or high street bank, or send a cheque. You can also donate £5 by texting the word GIVE to 70707. 

Here's the DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal video that was broadcast on ITV last night, presented by Art Malik. 

Donate to the appeal now by clicking here.

Here are a few examples of what your money could buy:

- £25 can provide 5,000 chlorine tablets for safe drinking water;

- £50 will feed two familes for a month;

- £100 pays for a sturdy family tent.

Anya Raza, Concern's Programme Support Officer, files their latest report from Pakistan.

"On the 2^nd and 3^rd of August our team went to District Charsadda in the worst-affected province of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, to do a damages/needs assessment. Of the 500 households (HHs) which were assessed, 400 HHs received provisions from us (blankets, hygiene kits, plastic sheets and jerry cans). Given that each family has between 7 and 9 members, we have therefore already responded to between 2800-3600 individuals. We were the first organisation to respond in this area.

"The more affluent families in the areas have been providing cooked food to those affected by the flood. The Al-Khidmat Foundation is providing medical assistance in the area. The main medical complaints are: diarrhoea (mainly children), malaria and scabs (all flood affected). There is a great need for clean drinking water, municipal authorities have said they would take charge in this respect but thus far, there has been no provision from their side.

"Our teams spoke with women in the households. From this they found out that their urgent requirements are food and shelter. Women also have specific sanitary needs which are not being addressed by anyone. Due to the floods, there have been a lot of snake bites, 8-10 people bitten in one village alone.

"In the assessed areas of Charsadda, around 2,000 people are sheltering in the schools (30-40% of the schools have also been damaged). 40% of businesses have been destroyed. Irrigation channels, land areas and major crops (sugar cane, maize, tobacco) have also been washed away. With the improvement in weather conditions and as flood water is receding, there is a need for debris removal, for which local people do not have the tools.

"Our team met an 80 year old man, who was unable to walk, whose son had died even before the floods, leaving his daughter-in-law and children behind to be taken care of. Mud is commonly used in place of cement when houses are built in these areas, therefore, when the floods came, the mud dissolved causing the roof to collapse and in effect destroying all their possessions. They are now left with no ability to support themselves. They have no access to food and other essentials, but now have received the Concern emergency pack.

"Today [4 August], another 200 households (1400-1800 people) will receive emergency relief from Concern."

Our member agency Tearfund reports back on the story of one man affected by the Pakistan floods:

Mir Akber Khan is a married man living with his wife and three children in Kandaray, a village in Muslimabad District Nuashera. He owned a small shop. According to him, he was at his shop on 31 July, when it started to rain in the morning, and by the next evening the flood had destroyed the village.

"I thought it was normal rain as before. My home is near the riverbank and I saw water rising rapidly and within no time, the banks burst and water had come into our village and destroyed everything.  When I first saw the water enter our village, I knew that this was not something normal and I immediately called my wife and children and left our home as it was and went to the nearby hill. As the water level increased, we could see our home disappearing under the water, which reached a height of 20 feet. We lost all our belongings - we had no time to rescue our animals either. We have no home to go back to, we have no food to eat, and we have set up our temporary shelter with beds on this hill. Thousands of people like me have lost their homes and are waiting for help. As you can see, water is still standing in our village and I am waiting for it to go down so that we can go back and do something about it."

Local people are working around the clock to rescue families cut off by rising flood waters. Using wooden fishing boats, a navy of “Malah” fishermen and volunteers are working with local groups, Oxfam and the Pakistani authorities, to evacuate more than 50,000 people.

Fifty volunteers working in an area of Punjab, mobilised with the help of Oxfam, had their boats ready when the monsoon struck a week ago. With lists of “drivers” prepared, they responded immediately to help stranded families reach dry land. In just the last few days, this one group has evacuated 6,000 people and their efforts continue.

Javed Iqbal, who works for the local organisation supported by Oxfam, said:
“We are still working to evacuate families who are cut off because they live in between difficult streams unknown to people around here. “Malah” are local boat men who know the zig zag of the streams and can help us navigate to remote areas in need of help. We should have reached everyone in this community by the end of tomorrow.”

In another area of Punjab rescuers are working fast to rescue 3,000 people from an area of land which is fast being consumed by floods. Again a local group, supported by Oxfam, has organised local volunteers and boats to reach the worst-hit areas. 

Iqbal estimates that 50 percent of the houses in the area have been destroyed by flood waters.

Iqbal said:
“Those we have rescued today are facing health problems and their animals have died. People are suffering from diarrhea and rashes on their skin. We are helping get them to camps and providing clean water and cooked food. But many are also sleeping out in the open in desperate need of shelter.”

Some boats, only 16 feet long, are rescuing 30 people at a time from small islands between streams and cut off by rivers.

Oxfam’s Country Director in Pakistan, Neva Khan said:
“Pretty much everyone in these areas of the country have been affected by the catastrophic floods, yet local communities are relentlessly working with Oxfam’s support to reach people stranded people in need of help. So far the boats have evacuated 54,000 people to safety.”

Oxfam have already helped 182,000 people, by providing clean water and hot food. They have also deployed 17 emergency boats to assist government search and rescue efforts, evacuating 80,000 people.

Hello!

The latest news is that aid from our member agencies is now reaching over 300,000 survivors after the worst floods in Pakistan’s history.

Members of the DEC are grappling with serious logistical difficulties to bring aid into the affected areas but significant aid has already been delivered. For example:

• Oxfam have helped 182,000 people, by providing clean water and hot food. They have also deployed 17 emergency boats to assist government search and rescue efforts, evacuating 80,000 people
• Islamic Relief have delivered hygiene kits to 14,000 people as well as tents.
• Save the Children have distributed food to 48,000 people. They have also delivered shelter kits, medicine and hygiene kits by raft, boat and donkey.
• Merlin have provided 300 medical experts treating over 4,000 people. They have set up 18 health clinics and six mobile teams delivering water purification tablets, dry food and basic survival kits.
• A summary of all other DEC members' efforts is over here.

These devastating floods have left millions fighting to survive with little food, clean water or shelter. As monsoon rains continue unabated, it is clear that the situation is deteriorating and the speed of our response is vital.

DEC members and their partners have already reached over three hundred thousand people on the ground but with roads and bridges damaged the challenges we face are considerable. We urgently need your help to save more lives.

To make a donation to the DEC Pakistan appeal call the 24 hour hotline on 0370 60 60 900, visit http://www.dec.org.uk or donate over the counter at any post office or high street bank, or send a cheque. You can also donate £5 by texting the word GIVE to 70707.

New photos from our member agency Merlin, who have provided 300 medical experts treating over 4000 people. They have also set up 18 health clinics and six mobile teams delivering water purification tablets, dry food and basic survival kits.

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Click here to download:

new-photos-of-merlin-s-response-in-pakistan-uaFkuAidksfxdHrtxhey.zip (3.18 MB)

Photos of:

- Merlin’s mobile camp in Nowshera

- The damage left behind by flood waters in Behrain and Madyan

- The Swat river in high flood.

Just in - a story from HelpAge International’s Pakistan Programme Manager Asma Akbar, who is currently in Nowshera, Pakistan, and tells below what she's been seeing. 

Many of the people affected weren’t poor beforehand – they had businesses and homes, but now they cant even find food. Older women seem totally isolated. This is a culture where women really aren’t supposed to be publicly very visible so many are just remaining in their damaged homes, but younger women are running around trying to find food which is really not usual. Actually it seems to me that the men are more traumatized and shocked. I can’t believe also how hot it is here – we expected the rain to cool things down but people, including vulnerable and older people, are sitting outside with no shelter. Some people have found refuge in schools but they are just lying on the ground waiting.

There is no regular or systematic distribution of food yet – some concerned individuals are driving from places like Islamabad with carloads of food but it is just being distributed on a first come first served basis so those who are too weak can't get to the cars in time. Some of the food being distributed like naan is not suitable for some older people – they can’t swallow it – they need softer food.

I talked to one older man, a retired accountant of 70, who was desperately looking for food, running around with his ID card. He seemed strong – I asked if he can help in the relief efforts: "Yes, I can help – as soon as I get food, as soon as I can fill my stomach. Other people feel deep shame to ask for anything. "We will not beg," one older person says to me, "we will wait til it comes."

There are some attempts to set up large cooking points so that people can serve up large quantities of food, but again it’s not organized yet and the most vulnerable haven’t been targeted.'

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