Pakistan is experiencing the worst flooding in recorded history with more than 1,400 people feared dead and 5 million homeless. To date, CARE has distributed shelter and emergency materials to more than 4,000 people and provided health treatment to nearly 5,000, mostly women and children. Help is urgently needed! More than 14 million people have been affected by the floods, which is more than the number of people affected by the 2005 South Asia tsunami, the 2005 South Asia earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined. More than 700,000 homes have been destroyed, twice the number of those destroyed in Haiti. The evacuees now languish in makeshift shelters. Many have settled on the side of dirt roads, shading themselves from the blazing sun by propping a bed over their heads or sheltering beneath a wagon. Others are clustered under a tin awning by a derelict railway station, or in similarly run-down school buildings. Doctors say they are already seeing an outbreak of scabies and diarrhea among the displaced. Women have had to go into labor in public places, giving birth in classrooms they share with other families, for example. When relief goods arrive, always from a private donation, there is a panicked scramble to gather whatever little food each person can grab within the seconds available. With each passing day, the fury at the government's neglect mounts. (See below pictures of what Pakistan's flood survivors have salvage.) It was in an attempt to stanch that anger that President Asif Ali Zardari paid a brief visit to Sindh, his native province, last week. Setting down via helicopter in Sukkur and under heavy guard, the leader glimpsed at the devastation, handed out checks to suffering children, stroking their heads to comfort them, and then returned to Islamabad. On Sunday, Zardari accompanied U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to southern Punjab, where Ban said: "This has been a heart-wrenching day for me ... In the past, I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this." Before the floods, Zardari's popularity stood at just 20%. Now it must be at rock bottom. Over the coming weeks, if he wishes to recover his government's standing, he will have to set Pakistan on a course where it can begin to rebuild its economy, draw billions of dollars from the international community, and help the millions affected by the waters return to their lives. Many doubt whether their president is up to the task. (See below for pictures from Pakistan's devastating floods.) |
Pakistan Flood Disaster
