Sindh floods: Aid agencies call for urgent donations

More rains are expected in various districts of Sindh in the coming three days.

HYDERABAD/ISLAMABAD: As relief efforts continue in Sindh, aid agencies have called for urgent donations for the province’s flood victims.

“Food assistance is currently being given to half a million people, World Food Program’s spokesperson Amjad Jamal, told The Express Tribune.  “We plan to scale up operations to reach over two million people by October,” he said, adding that “to continue relief efforts uninterruptedly donors’ urgent attention is needed.”

More rains are expected in the next three days, further raising water levels in Badin, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Thatta, Hyderabad, Benazirabad, Dadu and Larkana, as well as Karachi and eastern parts of Balochistan. According to a UN official, monsoon rains are expected to stretch till mid October and the situation is likely to worsen. Pakistan’s monsoon rains, which followed the worst flooding in the country’s history in 2010, began a month ago and have to date affected some 5.3 million people, according to government estimates.

According to the Sindh Provincial Disaster Management Authority, 226 people have died in the floods with 26% of them women and 15% children. The disaster management authority said that 279,300 people are displaced and living in temporary settlements.

According to UK-based charity Oxfam, embankments in Sindh have been increased by only two or three feet rather than the recommended six feet. It called on the government and donors to invest more in measures to reduce the impact of disasters.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th,  2011.