WORST FLOOD OF THE CENTURY
In Pakistan at least 1,600 people have been killed and more than 722,000 homes have been
badly damaged or totally destroyed. More deaths predicted secondary to disease outbreak.
The 2010 Pakistan floods began in July 2010 after heavy monsoon rains. The United
Nations estimates over 25-30 million people are suffering with over 160,000 square
kilometres (~1/3 of Pakistan) affected as a result of the flooding, exceeding the combined
total of the affecters of 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the
2010 Haiti earthquake.
Around a fifth of Pakistan's total land area was impacted by the flooding] UN Secretarygeneral Ban Ki-Moon said that it was the worst disaster he had ever seen, and asked for an
initial $460 million for emergency relief, 20% of which had been received as of August 15,
2010. Extensive damage to infrastructure and crops significantly harmed the struggling
Pakistani economy.
Adding to its trouble, much of Pakistan has gone underwater in recent days. Seasonal
monsoon rains have swept much of the country, most especially the northwest war-torn
regions, and in just two days received ten times the rainfall we normally get in one month.
The United Nations has issued a global appeal for assistance and major relief efforts have yet
to reach the most affected areas.
The rising toll from the monsoon rains underscore the need for infrastructure in Pakistan,
where our rescue workers are under-equipped for treating the thousands of people wading out
from far-flung villages demolished by the waters. The weather forecast going forward is
mixed, with some areas expected to see reduced rainfall and others likely to see
intensification.
There are reports of outbreaks of cholera among the survivors of monsoon flooding, as
people are left to live in the flooded streets. Our team of rescue workers is working on
setting up field medical camps to treat flood victims, provide food, water, hygiene supplies
and logistics support for the tens of thousands of displaced persons.
Background of the floods was caused by monsoon rains, which were forecast to continue into
early August and were described as the worst in this area in the last 80 years.] The Pakistan
Meteorological Department said that 300 mm (12 inches) of rain fell over a 36-hour period
and more was expected. So far as many as 500,000 or more people have been displaced from
their homes. Manuel Bessler, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs, stated that 36 districts were involved, and 550,000 people were affected, although
later reports increased the number to as high as a million affected.
The Khyber Pakhtun-khwa provincial information-minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said "the
infrastructure of this province was already destroyed by terrorism. Whatever was left was
finished off by these floods. He also called the floods "the worst calamity in our history.
Officials have warned that the death-toll could rise as many towns and villages are not
accessible and communications have been disrupted. In some areas, the water-level was
5.5 m (18 ft.) high and residents were seen on roof-tops waiting for aid to arrive.
At least 1,588 people have been injured, 722,600 houses and 4,600 villages have been
damaged or destroyed.
The Karakoram Highway, which connects Pakistan with China, was closed after a bridge
was destroyed.
The on-going devastating floods in Pakistan will have a severe impact on an already
vulnerable population, says the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In addition
to all the other damage they have caused, floodwaters have destroyed much of the healthcareinfrastructure in the worst-affected areas, leaving inhabitants especially vulnerable to waterborne disease.
In Sindh, the Indus River burst its banks near Sukkur on August 8, submerging the village of
Mor Khan Jatoi. There is also an absence of law and order, mainly in Sindh.
In early August, the heaviest flooding moved southward along the Indus River from severelyaffected northern regions toward western Punjab, where at least 1,400,000 acres (570,000 ha)
of cropland was destroyed, and the southern province of Sindh.
The crops affected were cotton, sugarcane, rice, pulses, tobacco and animal fodder.
Floodwaters and rain destroyed 700,000 acres (3,000 km2) of cotton, 200,000 acres (800 km2)
acres each of rice and cane, 500,000 tonnes of wheat and 300,000 acres (1,000 km2) of
animal fodder.
According to the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, the floods destroyed 2 million bales of
cotton, which led to increase in futures of the commodity in international market.
The power infrastructure of Pakistan also took a severe blow from the floods, which damaged
10,000 transmission lines, transformers, feeders and power houses in different flood hit areas.
Flood water inundated Jinnah Hydro power and 150 power houses in Gilgit. The damage
caused a power shortfall of 3,135 MW.
Aid agencies have warned that the outbreaks of diseases, such gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, and
skin diseases due to lack of clean drinking water and sanitation can pose a serious new risk to
victims of flood.
On August 14, the first case of cholera emerged in the town of Mingora, as fear ran through
millions of stranded victims of flood, who are already suffering from gastroenteritis and
diarrhoea.
Pakistani authorities have predicted that fresh rainfall is expected to trigger further two waves
of flooding, inundating more land and swallowing yet more villages. One of this new flood
surge is currently sweeping down from mountainous areas in the north and expected to hit
highly populated areas in the coming days, while the second wave is being formed in the
mountains.