Overview:
The seasonal monsoon rainfalls across Pakistan began in the third week of August 2012 affecting the provinces of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK), Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Sindh and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
A second spell of seasonal monsoon rainfalls started over the southern parts of the country from the end of the first week of September and peaking on 9 and 10 September across Pakistan, with flooding spanning over the provinces of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the current monsoon spell has penetrated into the upper parts of the country. More rains are expected in the northern areas of Pakistan by the end of the week of 10 September.
Though the second wave of monsoon weakened by 10 September, the season’s below-normal monsoon rain has already caused significant damage and casualties in the affected areas. To date, 17 people have lost their lives while 654 people have been injured. Some 13,602 houses and shops have been partially/fully destroyed.1 Infrastructure has suffered damages, including access to links such as roads and bridges. Further, the rains have washed away tens of thousands of acres of standing crops, 160 head of livestock and over 2,000 poultry. The provincial government has declared an emergency in the affected areas of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab to activate a local response but international support has not been requested at this stage.
The total number of affected people remains unclear, as various sources have provided different figures. The government’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has reported 160,633 people affected in Punjab and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Balochistan has reported 7,361 people in Balochistan. According to the media reports 32,000 people are reported affected in Sindh.
The worst affected districts in the second wave include Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan, in Punjab province, Jacobabad and Shikarpur in Sindh province, and Jaffarabad. Naseerabad, Killa Saifullah, Jhal Magsi and Loralai in Balochistan province. On a positive note the present rains are likely to mitigate the previously feared drought situation in Sindh and marginally in Balochistan. NDMA, PDMA and local district authorities are providing humanitarian assistance to the affected people including tents, blankets and food in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan provinces.