Devastating flooding in August and September 2022 affected 33 million people and left thousands of families without a roof above their heads or any means to make a living. Many have been working to recover ever since.
Below are 5 things to know about the situation in Pakistan 13 months on.
1. People are still rebuilding their lives.
Many families are still living in temporary shelters next to their damaged homes with limited access to food or clean drinking water. Some of the most impacted communities were those that host Afghan refugees. These communities were already under strain due to limited resources and the flooding has only increased the hardship faced by everyone living there.
2. Relief International and local communities have built three flood diversion walls to protect against future flooding.
Our staff mobilized a rapid response at the time of the flooding to provide essential health, hygiene and food supplies. Since then, Relief International has set about helping communities to recover and build resilience against future flooding. The Dera Ismail Khan, Nowshera and Charsadda districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were some of the most severely affected arreas last year. Our teams have worked closely with local communities to build three flood diversion walls utilising local resources in these areas, so that future flooding impacts fewer people.
3. These walls are also helping local people grow wheat, maize, rice and sugarcane.
As well as protecting nine villages from future flooding, the walls have helped families to start making a living again by using the redirected floodwater for irrigation and cultivation of wheat, maize, rice and sugarcane.
The organisation’s work has been life-changing for 11,000 people so far. Ahmed, a villager from Dera Ismail Khan says, “Our village experienced floods that washed away 150 houses. Devastation struck as the floodwaters washed everything away.”
He says that the flood diversion walls “have been our salvation”, restoring the livelihoods of locals. He adds that Relief International’s support has “ensured our health and kept transportation channels accessible and intact”.
4. People are rebuilding their businesses using cash grants and training from Relief International.
With the support of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Relief International also restored livelihood resources for over 500 families. Families received cash grants as well as skills, enterprise and business development training to support the rebuilding of their businesses over a period of 4-6 months.
5. More funding is needed to build walls which will protect 15 more villages.
While this work has been life changing for so many, additional funding is urgently required to meet the needs of thousands more who were impacted by the flooding and are vulnerable to the next extreme weather event.
With more support Relief International can build walls which will protect 15 more villages and 100,000 people from future floods, and restore the livelihoods of hundreds more families in need. But we can only do this with your help. You can help Relief International to deliver this critically needed support by donating now.
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