$600m needed to rebuild homes: IOM

NDMA estimates 1.8 million houses have been damaged and destroyed by floods.

ISLAMABAD: An emergency cluster led by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has estimated that up to $600 million will be needed to repair homes damaged and destroyed by the floods.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 1.8 million houses have been damaged and destroyed by the floods.

With more aid reaching flood-affected areas, coordination between agencies distributing shelter at the provincial and district level is visibly improving according to the agency.

IOM highlights the need to focus on working closely with local partners in distributing necessary goods, especially in the south of the country.

“The nature of the emergency and our response is changing rapidly. While people are still being displaced in Sindh, others in Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and other provinces are returning home to scenes of complete devastation. In the north we also have to address the arrival of winter. Our response needs to be adapted accordingly,” said IOM Pakistan Emergency Response Manager Brian Kelly.

IOM has also handled aid coming from USAID, OFDA, the UK Department for International Development, the UN and the European Union.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2010.