SPO Disaster Response report Balochistan, Sindh and NWFP

    Updated on Monday, July 2, 2007

Introduction

Pakistan had not yet recovered from the disastrous earthquake that struck Northern Pakistan on 8th October 2005, when another devastating disaster hit the South and Southwestern parts of the country. On June 23rd and 24th, 2007, costal areas of Pakistan were hit by tropical cyclone Yemyin. Packing winds of up to 80 miles per hour (130 kmph) roared over the Arabian Sea to the south of Karachi and hit the coast of the southwestern province of Balochistan, dumping torrential rain over Balochistan and Sindh provinces. The torrential rains and flash floods have played havoc in these areas and numbers of casualties is rising day after day. There have been no confirmed reports and assessments of the damages, as most of the areas are still inaccessible due to continued bad weather and badly damaged roads and other means of communications. Slowly and gradually the rescue and relief operations by the line agencies and NGOs are being carried out. However, these operations are limited only to the areas where water level has receded. Since news about a new weather system is developing, there is a looming threat of more rains in these areas.

The weather phenomena developed due to this cyclone resulted into a huge loss of life, livelihood and property. So far, an estimated 1.2 million people across Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP have become homeless and have been badly affected. Only in Balochistan this toll of affected people has reached an estimated number of 0.8 million and is continuously rising. Most parts of the province are still inaccessible and roads are totally destroyed that has disrupted large-scale rescue operations and relief work, which is being undertaken. There is a severe shortage of food, clean drinking water and medicines. SPO is continuously facilitating the rescue operations in areas under water and continuing with the relief operations in affected areas, where water has receded.

Most parts of Balochistan are still inundated and are endangered by more rains and floods. The destruction level in different districts across the three provinces can be categorized as:

Worst Affected          Kech (Turbat), Gawadar, Jhal Magasi, Naseerabad/Jaffarabad, Sibi, Bolan

                                and Thatta

Badly Affected           Kharan, Washik, Noshki, Khuzdar and Swat

Partially Affected       Mustung, Dalbandin, Qila Abdullah and Kalat

All these areas happen to be SPO partner clusters. SPO is operating in all the above mentioned districts through approximately 350 partner organizations and 16 Civil Society Networks (CSNs). Currently, SPO operations for relief are being managed through SPO field offices situated in Kech (Turbat), Naseerabad and Sibi, whereas, Hyderabad, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Islamabad offices are undertaking planning, networking and coordination activities.

SPO has grown to become the largest rights-based capacity building organization in Pakistan, both in terms of outreach and scope as well as the impact of work. Besides responding to emergencies, SPO’s core expertise lies in community mobilization and development of community and public interest institutions for the provision of municipal services for all basic amenities including but not limited to primary health care, basic education, water and sanitation. SPO has trained more than 2000 community organizations in 72 districts of Pakistan and 45 district level Civil Society Networks (CSNs).

Balochistan:

District Kech

District Kech still suffers after heavy rains that struck the area on June 26. Around 250,000 people are affected which is almost 50 percent of the total population. All roads coming to the city of Turbat remain blocked, cutting it off from the rest of the country. The city is also facing shortage of food supplies as a result of the closed routes. People in the affected areas are getting impatient and frustrated as the relief efforts remains slow due to the weather conditions. Meteorological Department of Pakistan has forecasted more rains in the area in the coming days. The news of another weather front moving has caused panic in some parts of the area.

Current Situation

The situation in District Kech is worsening as all the ground routes remain closed even after six days. This has caused a shortage of food items in the capital city of Turbat. Fuel prices have skyrocketed. The economy of Kech is dependent on localized trade with Iran and as the roads have been washed away, the supplies from Iran cannot reach the city. Although the water that inundated various parts of Union Council Nasirabad has dried out but access remains a challenge. The government is using MI 17 helicopters to airdrop food parcels to these areas. Earlier on, Pakistan Navy used rescue boats to reach the inundated areas of Nasirabad and Nedez. Humanitarian organizations are working hard utilizing the available local resources to help the affected people.

Some organizations have reported the out break of dysentery and scabies in various areas of Union Councils Koshkalat and Gokdan. The health infrastructure has also suffered a blow. There is shortage of medicines, doctors and paramedic staff.

As relief items arrive slowly, frustration among the affected people is growing. There was a demonstration followed by a strike in the city of Turbat and angry protesters attacked the offices of the District Nazim and the District Coordination Officer. However, attitude towards the humanitarian organizations remains normal. A few more villages in two Union Councils were affected which includes villages Tejaban (123 families) and Hoshab (400 families) in Union Council Hoshab and villages Sangabad (25 families), Karki (50 families), Kumbi (108 families) and Hironk (59 families) in Union Council Samy.

Many bridges have been washed leaving the city of Turbat still cut off from the rest of the country. The roads leading to Nasirabad, Nodez, Ginna and Kalatuk are not accessible due to a bridge collapse. The local government is trying to open the road as soon as possible. At the moment Turbat can only be accessed by air route. There is no electricity in the area as electric poles have been destroyed. People are in immediate need of clean drinking water, temporary shelter, food items, and health services. Landlines and internet connections are very limited.

Coordination

In view of the above it was deemed necessary that all the NGOs working in the relief operation and the district administration should coordinate their efforts in a focused manner, and share the information with the concerned. A meeting of all the organizations working in the relief operation was held on June 29 and Kech Disaster Response Forum (KDRF) was formed. In order to avoid duplication the Forum decided to divide the most affected Union Councils among all the participating organizations. SPO picked Union Council KoshKalat and Pidark. It was also decided that a crisis management cell be established which will disseminate information supplied by KDRF to media, government, incoming organizations and beneficiaries. The cell will be manned 24 hours a day to provide information and updates on the current situation. The cell will also answer queries by all concerned and support the local government to handle the flow of information. It was also agreed by the Forum to establish an information desk at Turbat airport for the incoming NGOs and INGOs. The District Nazim represented the local government and agreed to nominate a focal point for NGO-Government coordination. It was learnt that the local government has airdropped some food parcels at various points using the MI 17 helicopters of Pakistan Army. It was also agreed upon to invite a representative of Pakistan Army to attend the meeting. This would enable better coordination and will help the Forum in using army’s helicopters for assessments and distributions if needed. The Forum highlighted the need for the local government to reopen the ground routes as soon as possible to speed up relief efforts.

All members of Kech Disaster Response Forum completed emergency assessments in their respective areas of operation except for International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies/Pakistan Red Crescent Society and Family Planning Association of Pakistan due to lack of access. Some organizations also carried out distributions of various items available in the local market using innovative ideas i.e. water pumps with generators and water coolers. Al-Khidmat Foundation, Makran Resource Center, Save the Children UK and Plan Pakistan joined the Forum

 Union Council KoshKalat

Union Council KoshKalat is one of the biggest populated areas in Kech with a population of 18,000. It is seven kilometers from Turbat city. Towards its north is Kech River (Kech Kor), where many villages are located. Union Council KoshKalat is comprised of eight villages namely Aliabad, Malikibagh, Aspi Bazar, Zargifth, Kahn-e-Pusht, Nokalat, KoshKalat and Sothkal-e-Bazar. These villages are very close and congested. In the South of KoshKalat is a river named Rootag whose water comes from Turbat city and its surrounding areas during the rain mixed with the Kech River.

Current Situation

This area has been affected very badly. Out of eight villages, seven are the worst hit.

Following losses are reported:

1. 95% mud houses are washed away
2. Water supply and wells, if any, are completely damaged
3. Shops and markets destroyed and their commodities washed away
4. Agricultural lands and crops washed away
5. Livestock swept away

In this backdrop people are facing following problems:

1. People are shelter less
2. No clean drinking water available
3. Unavailability of food
4. Dead animals are dumped in the area which is the cause of skin diseases
5. No intervention of local government as yet in the area
6. Shelter less people have migrated to their nearby relatives who are in no position to afford their living expenses
7. Affected people are poor and have lost all their belongings and are not in a position to rebuild their houses.
8. People are shocked and psychologically disturbed
9. Lack of urgent health facilities in the affected areas especially for women
10. Lack of sanitation

People are protesting against the government drive to airdrop food supplies by C-130 planes because they have not reached the affected people

Following are the urgent needs of the affected people:

(SPO has somehow managed the need for clean drinking water but the need is getting higher)

Union Council Pidark

Union Council Pidark is located North East of Tehsil Turbat. The population is 16,000 and covers an area of 37809 kilometers comprising 22 small and medium sized villages. People depend on agriculture and livestock. Basically Pidark is one of district Kech’s least developed areas.

Current Situation

The inhabitants are deprived of the basic amenities; even the clean drinking water is not available. There is no electricity and telephone throughout the union council. Only two villages remained connected with a single telephone line but due to the construction of the road that telephone line has been damaged. The health and education situation is dismal. There are only 5 dispensaries without trained staff and medicines in the 22 villages. There are inadequate education facilities in the area. There are only two high, three middle and seven primary schools for boys and girls separately.

Due to heavy rainfall 42% of the mud houses have been destroyed. Agricultural setup and crops have been damaged. Two people have died due to falling of the boundary wall and the house.

Following losses are reported in the villages of the Union Council:

The houses need to be repaired and reconstructed. Food supplies and cooking utensils are urgently needed.

SPO’s Response in District Kech (Turbat)

SPO response in Kech is KoshKalat focused. The secretariat of the Kech Disaster Response Forum is housed in SPO Quetta and SPO Turbat. This secretariat is doing a lot of work in terms of coordination, collection of data and dissemination of information. Coordination is being done regularly between NGOs, international organizations and government line departments. The secretariat is providing useful information to the donors related to the worst hit areas where supplies are needed on priority basis and visits are also arranged. It is also receiving a lot of volunteers. SPO staff is engaged in the secretariat round the clock.

9 water tanks were initially arranged for KoshKalat and 4 generators/pumps were installed to uplift drinking water from the wells. A relief camp was set up in KoshKalat where a skin doctor was available to treat skin diseases and give an orientation. 58 patients were treated. Medicines were also distributed and people were also treated for throat infections and fever.

With the collaboration of Partnership Aid International, 1000 people are given cooked food every day. The Red Crescent Society provided 4 more generators/pumps to uplift water from the wells. Government is asked to provide technical assistance for the safe disposal of the corpses of cattle. National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) provided 5 big tents for shelter to communities. Church World Service-Afghanistan/Pakistan (CWS-A/P) is providing food for 1000 families for one week and as soon as the roads are cleared this food will reach Turbat from Karachi

Districts Sibi and Naseerabad

SPO Quetta office is the main office involved in planning and coordination of relief work in Balochistan. SPO’s project offices in districts Sibi and Naseerabad are assisting the Quetta office in the rescue and relief work. Following is the brief summary of activities undertaken by both the offices so far:

SPO’s Response in District Sibi

One field supervisor, two social organizers and one driver along with six volunteers are engaged in the rescue and relief activities in Sibi. Most of the villages were disconnected due to flood water and continuous rain but today three villages Dosah, Ghawar Gari and Basti Allahabad were accessed by the team. The damages/losses information of Tehsil and Union Councils of Dhadar and Bhag including Haji Shaha, Chandar, Gore, Mian, Mithari, Nushehro and Jalal Kan has also been collected and sent to Rescue and Relief Cell at SPO Quetta Office (in a meeting held on June 26, 2007 at SPO Quetta office and attended by INGOs, NGOs and Civil Society Organizations; it was unanimously decided that the SPO Quetta office would be the Rescue and Relief Cell regarding collection, compilation and update of flood affected areas and its damages)   

SPO’s Response in District Naseerabad

One filed coordinator; one social organizer and one driver along with eight volunteers are engaged in the rescue and relief activities in Naseerabad. The team has accessed 42 villages so far and the rescue and relief activities are being carried out at three levels. The team has accessed Union Council Ghari Rehman, Kot Phalyani Tehsil Thumboo, Goth Mola Bakhsh Umrani and Goth Ghulam Mohammad Umrani and cooked rice has been distributed among the affected people of the said villages. Apart from that edibles including wheat, tea, sugar etc. have been distributed. The team of Naseerabad comprised of volunteers is providing assistance in the medical camp set up in Kheer Thar Canal as well as in rescue operations. In this regard marooned people are being rescued by boats.

Sindh:

SPO Sindh started assessment in two Taluka named Kharochan and Kati Bunder District Thatta. Ten teams (2 members in each team) were formed and sent in the field with detailed questionnaire. Web for Human Development (WHDT), a civil society network, is declared the information center of SPO Sindh's intervention in District Thatta. A detailed assesssment will be carried out and results will be calculated on 3rd July. CWS, OXFAM and UNICEF are in touch with two partner organizations - Naojwan Social Welfare, Kharochan and Delta Indus.

NWFP:

The rains have created havoc in the districts of Swat, Chitral, Charsadda, Nowshera and Dera Ismail Khan.

Current Situation

On June 16, 2007 flash flood hit the village Baidara in the Tehsil Matta of district Swat. According to initial reports 13 children, one man and a woman lost their lives. Dozens of houses were washed away and cattle, which are the major source of income in the area, were also taken away by the flood. The waters also washed away the crops of wheat and rice in the area.

In District Charsadda rivers Sardaryab, Khyali and Jeendey are in high floods. So far no casualties are reported but waters have caused losses to properties and crops. The district administration is on high alert. The members of Civil Society Network Charsadda are assisting the district administration to assess the losses to crops and properties.

SPO, Dera Ismail Khan Team conducted a survey in the area to asses the losses caused by heavy rains. According to initial reports, villages of Juma Sharif, Wahora and Roara in Tehsil Proa are badly hit by flood waters. Heavy losses were caused to crops, cattle and properties. In Tehsil Kulachi, in Dara Gul Dad and Kot Wali Dad villages houses and crops were badly damaged and cattle swept away.

SPO’s Response in NWFP

SPO NWFP and Swat Participatory Council (SPC) immediately responded to the situation and took measures to respond to the situation. SPO provided tents, utensils and hygiene kits for the relief of shelter less people of the area. SPO also formed a team of social organizers for rehabilitation of traumatized children and provided toys for two safe play centers. A workshop to build the capacity of the social organizers is planned from July 5, 2007. SPO and SPC organized a medical camp in the area and provided vaccination to avoid epidemics in the area. The vaccination was brought in from Islamabad as it was not available locally.

SPC with the collaboration of Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) and Karvan (A local NGO) initially undertook an assessment and need identification survey in the area and started providing clean drinking water through water tankers and established an emergency office at Baidara.

The other needs identified were vaccination, medical camps, sanitation program and plantation (as deforestation was one of the major causes of flash flood). SPO and SPC have planned to undertake a detail survey to assess the post flood losses.