Relief operation continues

While casualty figures still remain unclear, relief teams continue to struggle to reach the worst hit parts of the northern and southern areas of Pakistan where communications have been severely disrupted by torrential rains and snowfall over the past two weeks. Continuing bad weather is hampering the provision of clean drinking water, food and shelter to stranded communities in parts of the southern province of Balochistan, North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the federally administered Northern Areas and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, officials told IRIN on Tuesday. "The rainy spell in the province of Balochistan has almost ended now. However, the northern region of the country will remain gripped by the rains and snowfall for another three days," Ghulam Murtaza, a meteorologist at the national meteorological department told IRIN in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. BALOCHISTAN Nearly 40,000 people have been severely affected by two weeks of heavy rains and flash floods, but the casualty figure remains contradictory. Earlier, on Sunday, the provincial authorities had announced a death toll above 200, but later they downplayed that figure. However, some 2,000 people are still missing in the southern districts, the French news agency AFP reported on Tuesday. "Only 56 people have been killed due to flood and rains in Balochistan, according to our reports," Ghulam Rasool Hasni, the provincial relief commissioner told IRIN from Quetta, the provincial capital on Tuesday, noting there were no food shortages or communication problems, describing them as "media reports". An estimated 15,000 people in some 40 villages of Gawadar district have been badly affected due to torrential rains and flash floods over the past two weeks, according to an initial flood damage assessment report of the forum of international NGOs working in the country. "A minimum of 12-15 houses in each village was completely destroyed while several others were partially damaged... Access by road is not possible and the aerial route is the only way left to reach most of the worst hit villages," the Gawadar flood assessment report said. Flood waters destroyed the water supply schemes of the villages, including that in the main Pasni town of Gawadar district, with a population of some 50,000. In addition, a lack of safe health and hygiene practices had worsened conditions and stagnant floodwater might become a rapid breeding ground for mosquitoes and ultimately increase the chances of malaria, said the NGO forum's assessment report. The report has also noted an immediate need for the supply of 1,000 tents and 5,000 blankets following a request by the local government. However, in the long run, the communities need an alternative source of livelihood as they had lost their crops, livestock, home utensils and uncooked stored food, the report said. Meanwhile, despite continuous bad weather, troops from Pakistan's armed forces continued their relief operation in about 29 flood-hit coastal villages. Mobile medical teams of Pakistan's army and navy were also operating in the area, besides two medical camps set up in Awaran and Lasbela districts, said a press statement from Pakistan's Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) directorate on Tuesday. In total, some 12 helicopters have been participating in relief and rescue operations across the province in the southern and northern districts. Relief goods have been airlifted daily by C-130 aircraft from the country's air force since last week. Two army helicopters carried out relief operation on tuesday in the northern district of Pishin, some 50 km from Quetta, where over 2,500 were stranded due to heavy rain and flash floods, said the ISPR statement. A severe shortage of daily use items and food supplies was being reported from the southern districts of Panjgoor, Kech, Lasbela, Khuzdar and Gawadar. "The southern belt of the province gets the items of daily use and other food supplies either from Iran or from the southern port city of Karachi. But as the roads have been submerged and the floodwaters have not receded for over a week now, the areas are facing a severe shortage of edibles," said Shahzada Zulfiqar, a Quetta-based senior journalist, adding, "If the communication infrastructure is not restored in a couple of days then situation may worsen and additional relief supplies would be needed for surrounding towns and villages as well." "So far, no disease outbreak has been reported from any of the flood-hit areas. However, due to severe cold and wet weather, airborne respiratory and communicable diseases may break out," Dr Masood Nausherwani, head of the WHO provincial branch told IRIN from Quetta. "As people are facing a shortage of clean drinking water, so the threat of an outbreak of water-borne diseases is also there," Nausherwani said. NORTH WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE "Nearly nine districts have been badly affected due to the recent spell of rains and snowfall. Nearly 263 people have been killed while 221 have been reported injured, so far," Ghulam Farooq Khan, provincial relief commissioner, told IRIN from Peshawar, NWFP's provincial capital, on Tuesday. Khan further added that continuous bad weather had been hampering relief efforts in the northern mountain range. "Around 12 helicopters are taking part in the relief operations and so far 5,000 people have been brought to safe points," Khan said. "We are sending a medical mission to assess the situation in the northern region. In the meantime, we have asked the local authorities to take precautionary measures especially against the water-borne and other seasonal diseases," Dr Saeed Akbar Khan of the World Health Organisation (WHO) told IRIN from Peshawar. PAKISTAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR "As yet, we've 59 confirmed deaths in the area due to avalanches, landslides and roofs collapsing. However, the number may rise considerably, as several areas are still inaccessible and, due to bad weather, air links are not possible," Sadiq Dar, head of the relief cell of Pakistani-administered Kashmir, told IRIN from Muzzafarabad, some 135 km north of the Pakistani capital. Dar further added that some 20,000 families were stranded in the valleys of Neelum, Leepa and other areas, and were in dire need of assistance. "Another 165 families of Kashmiri migrants living in camps located around Muzzafarabad have been shifted to safer places as continuous rains and snowfall have worsened the situation in camps as well," Dar added. Meanwhile, due to continuing rains in the northern parts of the country, the water levels in two small reservoirs, Khanpur and Simli, have been rising and surrounding communities have been asked to remain prepared for a possible evacuation. "The small dams are almost full now, but still we are not faced with any sort of flood threat, as these are long duration rains but of low-intensity," Asjad Imtiaz, a water expert at the Federal Flood Commission in Islamabad, told IRIN.