KEY DEVELOPMENTS
· Heavy monsoon flooding from mid-August to early September 2011 throughout Sindh Province and five districts in Balochistan Province has affected approximately 5.4 million people, according to the U.N. As of October 3, flooding had resulted in more than 400 deaths and injured more than 750 individuals, according to the Government of Pakistan (GoP) National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The monsoon season has concluded in Pakistan, and dry conditions have prevailed since September 14.
· On September 4, in response to intensifying floods, Pakistan’s Prime Minister mandated the immediate deployment of relief items, engineering equipment, helicopters, boats, and medical and rescue teams to the most affected districts in Sindh Province to bolster the Sindh Provincial Disaster Management Authority’s ongoing response and evacuation efforts.
· According to September 10 and 11 assessments conducted by the Shelter Cluster—the coordinating body for shelter activities in Pakistan—flooding displaced approximately 824,000 people. However, some people had started returning to areas of origin to assess damages, repair houses, and tend to fields in advance of the October to December winter planting season.
· On September 9, 2011, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Richard Hoagland, a.i., issued a disaster declaration due to the effects of the floods. The U.S. Government (USG) is providing more than $19 million—including nearly $11 million in resources allocated in FY 2011 and more than $8.3 million in FY 2010 allocated funding that the USG has authorized grantees to apply to the 2011 floods response—to meet immediate humanitarian needs in Pakistan.