60,000 rendered homeless in Sindh
Thursday, 18 August 2011
60,000 rendered homeless in Sindh:
KARACHI/LAHORE (Agencies) - Devastating rains have triggered floods in Sindh, where Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah said one million people have been affected.
Villages have been flooded and crops destroyed in country’s bread basket, which was one of the worst-hit areas in unprecedented floods in 2010 that affected 21 million people and caused losses of $10 billion.
Badin is the most affected district where more than half of the total population has been displaced, while rains have also caused havoc in the districts of Tando Mohammad Khan, Mirpurkhas, Thar, Umerkot and Tando Allahyar. The meteorological office has forecast more rain in coming days.
More than 50 villages were inundated in tehsil Jati and Mirpur Bathoro of Thatta on Wednesday when floodwater flowing from Badin raided the area after breaches developed at eight different places in the saline nullahs carrying floodwater. Cotton, rice and other crops on thousands of acres of land have been destroyed and hundreds of inhabitants of these areas are taking shelter in two government schools at Jati Chowk.
In Badin, floodwater was still gushing out from saline nullahs on the seventh day of the calamity’s onset and thousands of flood affectees have taken refuge in different relief camps set up by district governments. A TV channel reported that eight people, including seven children, have died in the district due to gastroenteritis. Civil surgeon Dr Moosa Memon said there has been a sharp rise in the number of gastroenteritis cases and other water borne diseases are also spreading rapidly.
Eight people died due to gastroenteritis in relief camps while a woman passed away because she was not provided adequate treatment. Villagers protested and blocked the Karachi-Badin highway claiming that no relief work was being done. Flood affectees have appealed to authorities to start a boat service to rescue women and children trapped in inundated villages.
Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah told reporters overnight that one million people had been affected. Shah at the disaster management authority said crops had been destroyed and houses flooded.
But Sajjad Haider Shah, an official in the provincial disaster management authority said, “At least 700,000 people have been affected by the floods caused by the recent rains in the six districts of Sindh province... Some 60,000 people have been rendered homeless, who have migrated to safer areas.“ There were unconfirmed reports that 30 people had been killed in the past week, he added.
The new affectees are joining those tens of thousands of people who were affected by last year’s folds but could not be rehabilitated. They are still living in emergency camps and British charity Oxfam has accused Pakistan of failing to invest in prevention measures, making it vulnerable to further disaster.
The situation in Punjab was also far form satisfactory where flooded Ravi overflowed and inundated dozens of villages in suburbs of Mian Channun and Nankana. Crops of cotton, rice and vegetables on thousands of acres were devastated. The affectees complained they were getting no assistance from the government and were evacuating to safer places on their own.
Many other villages along the Ravi, particularity near Mandi Faizabad, have been submerged in floodwater. Floods have forced thousands of people to live under the open sky. No medical camp has been set up in the calamity-hit areas.
However, situation in Sutluj River near Kasur was getting better water level had started to lower and the locals were returning to their homes, according to a private TV channel report. DCO Kasur Syed Irshad Hussain said that river Sutlej will come to its normal flow in a day or two and water level will come down drastically. He said that no major flood was expected until September 15 in the area and the flood victims were returning to their areas in Kasur district.
India had spilled more than 70,000 cusecs of water into the Sutlej which mounted its water level to an alarming level and inundated dozens of villages in Kasur, creating an emergency in the area.
However, it is reported that water level was soaring in Sutlej at Basirpur in Okara and in Vehari. The water inflow at Head Islam is 7,000 cusecs that will surge to 15,000 to 20,000 until Thursday (today). Owing to the situation, the people living along the banks of Sutlej in these areas have started evacuation.
KARACHI/LAHORE (Agencies) - Devastating rains have triggered floods in Sindh, where Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah said one million people have been affected.
Villages have been flooded and crops destroyed in country’s bread basket, which was one of the worst-hit areas in unprecedented floods in 2010 that affected 21 million people and caused losses of $10 billion.
Badin is the most affected district where more than half of the total population has been displaced, while rains have also caused havoc in the districts of Tando Mohammad Khan, Mirpurkhas, Thar, Umerkot and Tando Allahyar. The meteorological office has forecast more rain in coming days.
More than 50 villages were inundated in tehsil Jati and Mirpur Bathoro of Thatta on Wednesday when floodwater flowing from Badin raided the area after breaches developed at eight different places in the saline nullahs carrying floodwater. Cotton, rice and other crops on thousands of acres of land have been destroyed and hundreds of inhabitants of these areas are taking shelter in two government schools at Jati Chowk.
In Badin, floodwater was still gushing out from saline nullahs on the seventh day of the calamity’s onset and thousands of flood affectees have taken refuge in different relief camps set up by district governments. A TV channel reported that eight people, including seven children, have died in the district due to gastroenteritis. Civil surgeon Dr Moosa Memon said there has been a sharp rise in the number of gastroenteritis cases and other water borne diseases are also spreading rapidly.
Eight people died due to gastroenteritis in relief camps while a woman passed away because she was not provided adequate treatment. Villagers protested and blocked the Karachi-Badin highway claiming that no relief work was being done. Flood affectees have appealed to authorities to start a boat service to rescue women and children trapped in inundated villages.
Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah told reporters overnight that one million people had been affected. Shah at the disaster management authority said crops had been destroyed and houses flooded.
But Sajjad Haider Shah, an official in the provincial disaster management authority said, “At least 700,000 people have been affected by the floods caused by the recent rains in the six districts of Sindh province... Some 60,000 people have been rendered homeless, who have migrated to safer areas.“ There were unconfirmed reports that 30 people had been killed in the past week, he added.
The new affectees are joining those tens of thousands of people who were affected by last year’s folds but could not be rehabilitated. They are still living in emergency camps and British charity Oxfam has accused Pakistan of failing to invest in prevention measures, making it vulnerable to further disaster.
The situation in Punjab was also far form satisfactory where flooded Ravi overflowed and inundated dozens of villages in suburbs of Mian Channun and Nankana. Crops of cotton, rice and vegetables on thousands of acres were devastated. The affectees complained they were getting no assistance from the government and were evacuating to safer places on their own.
Many other villages along the Ravi, particularity near Mandi Faizabad, have been submerged in floodwater. Floods have forced thousands of people to live under the open sky. No medical camp has been set up in the calamity-hit areas.
However, situation in Sutluj River near Kasur was getting better water level had started to lower and the locals were returning to their homes, according to a private TV channel report. DCO Kasur Syed Irshad Hussain said that river Sutlej will come to its normal flow in a day or two and water level will come down drastically. He said that no major flood was expected until September 15 in the area and the flood victims were returning to their areas in Kasur district.
India had spilled more than 70,000 cusecs of water into the Sutlej which mounted its water level to an alarming level and inundated dozens of villages in Kasur, creating an emergency in the area.
However, it is reported that water level was soaring in Sutlej at Basirpur in Okara and in Vehari. The water inflow at Head Islam is 7,000 cusecs that will surge to 15,000 to 20,000 until Thursday (today). Owing to the situation, the people living along the banks of Sutlej in these areas have started evacuation.
