Flash floods wreak havoc in northwest

At least 20 people were killed and hundreds of houses destroyed or badly damaged after heavy monsoon rains on 16 August triggered flash floods in the Mardan and Swabi districts of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP).



Teams from UN agencies and the provincial government have been assessing the damage on the ground. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, in a situation report on 17 August, that “the numbers of affected people remain undetermined.”



“According to various sources, there are reports of 27 deaths, nine people missing, an estimated 400-450 houses destroyed, along with massive losses to crops and livestock. The administration of Swabi District has reported 70,000-80,000 people have been affected in the region,” the report said.



Rizwan Baig, emergency programme manager for the UK-based Muslim Aid organization, which OCHA said was the first to arrive in the affected area, told IRIN: “1,000 houses have been completely wiped out.”



Baig said survivors were living under “open skies”, while attempts were being made to provide tents to those most in need. “It was houses made from mud that were worst affected as water flowed through villages,” he said.



NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Hoti has visited the area and told the media that he had requested more detailed information on the damage. Adnan Khan, a spokesperson for the Emergency Rescue Unit (ERU) of the provincial government, said: “Two trucks of relief goods have been sent to the area.”



However, some local people complain they have received insufficient help.



Muhammad Hussain, from an affected village in Swabi District, said: “People are without food or clean water. Some are still trapped in flooded areas.”



With damage to roads and some bridges swept away, travel is perilous, aid workers say.



Threat to livelihoods



The torrents flowing down hillsides also affected standing crops and, according to Muslim Aid, “450 heads of livestock, including cattle and smaller animals were killed.”



OCHA warned this would mean a possible loss of livelihoods, given that people depend on their animals for both domestic and commercial needs.



“The food items we stored in our houses, including wheat to provide flour for the next four to five months, have also been swept away. We don’t know how we will manage now,” said Hussain. “Currently people who have lost everything need clothes, food and medicines.”



The suffering of people hit by the floods may not yet be over. Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, director-general of the Meteorological Office in Islamabad, told IRIN: “More rains are expected over the next day or two in northern parts of the country.”



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