UNHCR scales up response to catastrophic floods in Pakistan

 GENEVA - UNHCR, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, is mobilizing resources and staff to expand aid to Pakistan to support communities and refugees affected by catastrophic flooding.

Officials in our country say that the magnitude of the disaster the country is experiencing is unimaginable. Many are living in the open and waiting for help as local authorities and humanitarian organizations rush to reach more people. Others hide in shelters or stay with their hosts. An estimated 33 million people were affected by the weekly intense monsoon rains and widespread flooding that killed more than 1,100 and injured nearly 1,600 and caused decades of unseen devastation.

UNHCR is working with disaster relief agencies in Pakistan to rapidly evacuate thousands of tents and blankets, plastic sheets, buckets and other household items from areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. auxiliary devices. Aid is also being delivered to affected areas in the southern province of Sindh. We plan to provide support to more than 1 million people and approximately 50,000 households in the most affected areas. About 300,000 houses were completely destroyed and more than 650,000 were affected by rains and floods. Crops were destroyed, 2 million hectares of land were damaged, approximately 735,000 animals died and livelihoods were destroyed. Monsoon rains and melting glaciers also damaged communication infrastructure and road networks.

The rain and floods washed away their belongings within minutes, and the victims told UNHCR staff about their injuries and scars. The one who got safely to a high place without saving a single thing.

Shelter, clean drinking water and food issues are among the most pressing issues after the flood. As part of the United Nations' humanitarian efforts, UNHCR, with support from the United Nations, conducted a government-led rapid demand assessment. We are mobilizing women across the country to support flood-affected women and children. Pakistan and its people have hosted millions of Afghan refugees for over 40 years, and there are currently about 1.3 million registered in the country. UNHCR's support is a sign of solidarity between the country and its people. More than 420,000 Afghan refugees live with generous host communities in some of the worst-affected areas of Pakistan, including Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Paktunkwa provinces.

While it will initially deploy domestic equipment to Afghan refugees and host community operations, it will shift additional aid deliveries from local supplies in Termez, Uzbekistan and explore other options. The aid will be delivered to the Pakistan Emergency Response Agency for coordinated distribution.

The results of Tuesday's funding request are encouraging, but more action is needed to help Pakistan overcome this disaster. For more information on this topic, please contact:

Qaiser Khan Afridi in Islamabad, afridiq@unhcr.org +92 300 5018696
Bangkok, Kasita Rochanakorn, rochanak@unhcr.org, +66 64 932 0803
Bangkok, Babar Baloch, baloch@unhcr.org, +66 80 086 5611
From Geneva, Matthew Saltmarsh, saltmars@unhcr.org; +41 79 967 99 36

 

Read more: https://www.unhcr.org/uk/news/briefing/2022/9/6311bba14/unhcr-scales-response-catastrophic-floods-pakistan.html