SITUATION

PAKMET reports that mostly dry and hot weather is expected in many parts of the country, however there is a chance of isolated rainfall in some northern parts of Punjab and some parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

PAKMET’s report brings relief but one year after the terrible water flooding which hit the whole country, from North to South, leaving over 8 million affected people, Pakistan faced once again massive floods which have claimed so far 347 lives, affecting 7.5 million people, among which many had already lost everything in the summer 2010 catastrophe. Humanitarian needs are once more unprecedented, while monsoon rains are further deteriorated the sanitary conditions of stranded communities and complicated access of relief to these vulnerable populations.

Unlike floods in 2010 which hit the whole country, populations in the South are the first victims of this year’s disaster, with Sindh being the most affected province. Over 1.4 million homes have been damaged or destroyed, and 6 million acres of land affected, threatening the health, livelihoods and living conditions of hundreds of thousands of families in 23 districts of Sindh.

The risk of diseases spreading is high as more than 500,000 people have fled to the temporary relief camps, but are living in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Sanitation facilities are scarce and there is a lack of safe drinking water.

Throughout the heavily affected districts of Sindh, populations are awaiting immediate relief, emergency shelters, food, access to potable water, proper sanitation and hygiene, as well as access to health facilities.