Massive floods across Pakistan | Thousands Killed

[S_O_C_O_M]

ADB to offer Pakistan $2bn emergency loan​

By Matthew Green in Islamabad

Published: August 18 2010 10:57 | Last updated: August 18 2010 10:57

The Asian Development Bank will offer Pakistan a $2bn emergency loan to help repair massive damage to infrastructure caused by the country’s recent floods.

Juan Miranda, the bank’s director-general for central and west Asia, told the Financial Times that the ADB would also set up a trust fund to channel donor contributions for reconstruction.

The pledge comes amid rising concern over the sluggish nature of the international response to the flood disaster which began three weeks ago.

The United Nations said on Wednesday that it had received almost half of the $459m it needs to fund relief efforts after days of lobbying donors. But most of the 6m Pakistanis the UN said are in urgent need of shelter, water and food have yet to receive international aid.

The ADB will work with the World Bank and Pakistani officials to assess the scale of the damage by the end of September. Mr Miranda said he is due to meet President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad on Friday to discuss the terms of the concessionary loan.

“We will make available a minimum of $2bn towards the reconstruction effort,” Mr Miranda said. “We have a long-term commitment to the country. This is a time when we have to show what we’re made of, to work with everyone to figure out exactly how we can put back dignity into the lives of the people.”

The pledge is the largest commitment made by donors to finance flood-related reconstruction in Pakistan. The World Bank said on Monday it was making $900m available to finance the rebuilding effort.

Mr Miranda said the damage caused by the floods was greater than the combined impact of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan and the Haitian earthquake in January.

Flood waters have wreaked havoc across Pakistan, snapping bridges, washing away roads, tearing down power lines, swamping schools and hospitals and damaging irrigation systems. The deluge has affected an area about the size of Italy. Pakistan’s government says 20m people have been hit by the floods.

“I would encourage every donor and the international community to come good at a time when it’s most needed,” Mr Miranda said. “Speed is of the essence. We have to put back facilities to where they used to be or even in better shape.”

Anger among flood victims at the pace of their government’s response has fuelled doubts over whether a weak administration dogged by corruption allegations can effectively channel an influx of aid.

Mr Miranda said the bank would establish oversight procedures to ensure donor contributions to its planned reconstruction fund for Pakistan will be used effectively.

“We have to and will make absolutely sure that those resources will be used in the way and for the purpose for which they were intended,” he said.

The ADB is also providing a $3m grant to Pakistan’s disaster management authorities to purchase boats, helicopters and other equipment needed for relief efforts and to help assess the scale of the devastation.

Aid workers say they have experienced only a sluggish global response to their appeal for money to fund emergency relief operations to help people driven from their homes or otherwise affected by the floods.

The UN fears water-borne diseases could trigger a second wave of deaths from the disaster, which has claimed an estimated 1,600 lives.

Pakistani officials hope a special United Nations session on the floods due to be held in New York on Thursday will spur a faster response.

.Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

FT.com / Asia-Pacific - ADB to offer Pakistan $2bn emergency loan

 

[S_O_C_O_M]

 

[S_O_C_O_M]

 

[Xeric]

http://epmaps.wfp.org/maps/04181_20...SC,UNOSAT_Road_Conditions_Map_of_Pakistan.pdf

R o a d C o n d i t i o n s M a p

Map showing the blocked roads and broken bridges in Pakistan:

Enlarge the pic or zoom in the pdf file.

 

[sparklingway]

Thanks xeric ! This is five days old now. Swat is totally cut off as of today. Major problems in Muzaffargarh since another patch of main roads has been washed away.

Mapping them is a great initiative.

 

[S_O_C_O_M]

Pakistan floods: Saudi Arabia pledges $100m​

Oil-rich country overtakes US as main aid donor as second wave of flooding hits new areas in southern provinces​

Saeed Shah in Islamabad guardian.co.uk
Wednesday 18 August 2010 20.49 BST

Pakistani flood victims will benefit from $105m in aid from Saudi Arabia, $100m of which will be in the form of relief goods. Photograph: Nadeem Khawer/EPA

Saudi Arabia has overtaken the US as the largest donor to Pakistan's flood relief effort, following criticism that Muslim countries were not giving enough for victims of the disaster.

The oil-rich country is to give $105m (£67m) in aid, according to Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, though just $5m of this is in cash, with the rest in the form of relief goods. The Saudi public has separately raised $19m.

The pledge was made as a spurt of other money came in for the still sluggish fundraising drive. The European Union increased its contribution, by €30m (£24m) to €70m, and the UN said that its appeal was now half funded.

The flooding is still inundating new areas, with two or more weeks of the monsoon season yet to run, while the threat of disease means the crisis could grow much worse.

A second wave of flooding has hit new areas of the southern provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.

In Britain, the Disasters Emergency Committee expressed "grave concern" today that cholera cases had been confirmed.

Until now, the US had been the leading contributor towards relief efforts, and its generosity was seen as a way for Washington to improve its image in Pakistan. Muslim countries, meanwhile, had been slow to give and may have been stung into donating by criticism in the Pakistani media.

Saudi Arabia has strong links with Pakistan, with many Saudi charities promoting its brand of conservative Islam in the country for decades, including the funding of religious seminaries often accused of promoting Islamist extremism.

The US is giving $76m in cash but says its contribution is worth $87m, including aid-in-kind. In addition, the US has 19 helicopters operating in northern Pakistan, ferrying supplies and people.

Last week, Richard Holbrooke, the US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said: "The people of Pakistan will see that when the crisis hits, it's not the Chinese. It's not the Iranians. It's not other countries. It's not the EU It's the US that always leads."

In total $466m has been pledged in aid so far, including contributions to the UN and non-governmental organisations. An appeal by the Pakistani prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gillani, attracted less than £1m at the start of this week.

TodayThe cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan launched a challenge to the government by starting his own flood appeal, saying the Pakistani public did not trust giving to the state.

Britain is giving £31m, said the international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, who was today visiting flood-hit areas in Pakistan on .

"The people of Pakistan need help and they need it now," said Mitchell. "It is difficult to comprehend the extent of this tragedy. Nothing could have prepared me for the horrific scenes of destruction and devastation I have seen today. But the worst could still be to come."

According to Oxfam, within the first 10 days after the Haitian earthquake, donors had committed $742m and pledged a further $920m. For Pakistan, the figures over the same period were $45m and $91m.

The money already donated is for the immediate relief of the 20 million people affected by flooding.

A vast area slicing through the middle of Pakistan, running from the mountains of the north to the desert areas of Sindh province in the south, has been affected. It is estimated that billions of dollars will be needed to rehabilitate the ravaged areas, rebuilding infrastructure and the economy.

The UN appealed last week for $460m to cover the first 90 days of the emergency. It said today that half the target had been reached, but warned that it was able to reach less than a quarter of the 6 million people in urgent need for food and clean drinking water. The cost of providing clean water alone is about $2m a day.

• To make a donation to the DEC Pakistan appeal, call the 24-hour hotline on 0370 60 60 900, visit dec.org.uk, donate over the counter at any post office or high street bank, or send a cheque. People can also donate by texting the word GIVE to 70707.

Pakistan floods: Saudi Arabia pledges $100m | World news | The Guardian

 

[ejaz007]

11 including nine children die of waterborne diseases

* Deaths reported from FATA, KP, Karachi and Balochistan

LAHORE: Eleven people, including nine children died of cholera and gastroenteritis across the country on Wednesday.

Two women died while 18 others were affected after an outbreak of cholera and gastro diseases in Bajaur Agency. According to health officials in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, special teams have been sent to Qazi village of Tehsil Utmankhel on reports of cholera outbreak. They reported that two women have died while 18 people were in serious condition. Teams of doctors and paramedical staff have rushed to the affected area. Health officials said situation is under control and rejected the possibility of outbreak of cholera and other waterborne diseases.

Three more children died in DI Khan as number of deaths due to gastroenteritis in the district reached 16. Official sources told Daily Times that cases of gastroenteritis have shot up in the past two and half weeks which have seen devastating floods. Mohammad Khalid, an official of the District Headquarter Hospital, said several children have been shifted to the hospital where they are being provided medical treatment. The children had consumed contaminated water in relief camps. According to reports, two children died of diarrhoea in Lakki Marwat district four days ago. Sources in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department told Daily Times that the department was facing shortage of medicines.

In Karachi, three more children died while 26 children fell unconscious following outbreak of gastroenteritis in a relief camp on Wednesday, bringing the total number of deaths caused by the disease to five. Meanwhile, three minor girls suffering from waterborne diseases lost their lives in Sohbatpur, Balochistan. staff report/agencies

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[ejaz007]

Eco crisis threatens Pakistani state: US report

WASHINGTON: Environmental woes as witnessed in Pakistan’s devastating floods threaten the unity of the nation, exacerbating the threat of extremists, a US government report said. The study prepared for US lawmakers warned that Pakistan’s ecological problems would likely get worse due to climate change, potentially inflaming tensions with nuclear-armed adversary India. The report said that Pakistan faced critical risks to food security in the coming decades due to a number of reasons including water scarcity, population growth and mismanagement. “The combination of these factors could contribute to Pakistan’s decline as a fully functioning state, creating new, or expanding existing, largely ungoverned areas,” the Congressional Research Service said. The growth of lawless areas of the type seen now in the Tribal Areas is “not in US strategic interests given the recent history of such areas being used by the Taliban, al Qaeda and other terrorist groups,” it said. The Congressional Research Service is tasked with advising US lawmakers, although its reports do not necessarily reflect US policy. The Pakistan report was obtained by the Federation of American Scientists. While it was written largely before the flooding, the report warned of future disasters as climate change leads to a melting of Himalayan glaciers, the source of most of the water in the Indus River. afp

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[ejaz007]

16 more helicopters to support flood relief efforts: US admiral

* Harris says 15 US Army choppers already evacuating hundreds of victims

* Values of Americans promote the helping affected people

KARACHI: US Crisis Response Task Force Commander Rear Admiral Sinclair Harris said on Wednesday that 16 more helicopters will arrive soon to supplement rescue and relief efforts in flood affected areas of Pakistan.

He was talking to journalists on board US aircraft carrier USS Peleliu along with US Consul General William Martin. He said that magnitude of catastrophe is so big that we need more helicopters to support rescue and relief work. Admiral Harris said that 15 helicopters of the US Army and Navy were already in the field and evacuating hundreds of people in northern areas in an joint operation with the Pakistan Army and the federal government. On Tuesday, US helicopters had evacuated 800 people and delivered 93,000 pounds of supplies for the flood affectees.

Responding to a question, Admiral Harris said that the floods in Pakistan were worst than Hurricane Katrina, which hit the US in 2005, in terms of scale of devastation and area. He said that the US Marines and sailors were doing an incredible job in the flood-affected areas. “They are getting hugs and kisses from affectees in the northern areas in response to their relief efforts,” he added. But he made it clear that the US support was not aimed at improving its image in Pakistan. “Our job is to response to the need and help affected people. It is because of human values of the American people,” he added. app

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[IndianRobo]

A good News Indeed, Pakistan at this Moment needs More Helicopters, 16 more heading there way would be a great Relief for those affected by this Flood

 

[fawwaxs]

Next seven days critical for Sindh

The Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) said on Wednesday that next seven days were critical for Sindh because of the existing ‘exceptionally high flood’ in the Indus at Guddu and Sukkur. Water level is also rising at Kotri.

The FFD said there was less likelihood of monsoon activity in the next three to four days. But moderate flooding was likely due to hill ******** in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts following some heavy rains in the Suleman Range during the next 24 hours.

According to the FFD, the second flood wave in the Indus was still crossing Guddu and Sukkur barrages. It said the discharge at Guddu was 1.18 million cusecs and at Sukkur 1.19 million cusecs, and was gradually decreasing.

However, the flow at the two points was likely to remain over 950,000 cusecs in the next 24 to 48 hours.

The peak is now moving to Kotri where the flow on Wednesday was 384,037 cusecs. It is expected to rise to 400,000 to 500,000 cusecs in the next 24 to 48 hours.

The FFD said the high tide next week could aggravate the situation, especially in southern Sindh. “Next seven days are critical for Sindh.”

Inundation and riverine flooding are expected in low-lying areas of Khairpur, Jacobadabad, Ghotki, Sukkur, Larkana, Nawabshah, Hyderabad and Naushehro Feroze districts.

The FFD said the Indus upstream, Taunsa and Jhelum, and the Chenab River upstream, at Panjnad, were falling and expected to be normal in two days.

Isolated rains are expected in upper and eastern parts of Punjab and Kashmir during the next three to four days.

During the last 24 hours, Dera Ghazi Khan received 5mm of rain, Lahore 5mm, Sialkot 2mm and Parachinar 1mm.

 

[fawwaxs]

FM thanks India for $5m donation

NEW YORK: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi made an impassioned appeal to the international community on Wednesday to help Pakistan overcome the massive flood disaster. Over six million needed immediate help, he said.

At a press conference, he acknowledged that the US was the first in contributing money and equipment to help the Pakistanis impacted by the devastating flood. “Other countries, including China and Saudi Arabia, have also come forward to help,” he added.

Mr Qureshi announced that India had offered a $5 million donation for the relief of flood victims and profusely thanked India’s top diplomat here for the offer.

He told reporters that he had received a telephone call in New York from Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna.—Correspondent

 

[Condor]

A Pakistan police officer use a baton to control flood effected people who are trying to loot donated food from a bus at a roadside in Azakhel near Nowshera, Pakistan on Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed) #


He's not stealing - its their's by Right

Never ever do this again.

 

[fawwaxs]

Over four million rendered homeless by floods, says UN

ISLAMABAD: The number of people rendered homeless by the devastating floods in Pakistan has risen to more than four million, the United Nations said on Thursday, making the critical task of securing greater amounts of aid more urgent.

The UN had earlier said that two million people had lost their homes in the worst floods in Pakistan's history, which began nearly three weeks ago.

Aid agencies have been pushing for more funding as they try to tackle major problems such as food supplies, lack of shelter outbreaks of diseases.

The economic costs of the floods are expected to run into the billions of dollars.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it expected to contribute at least $2 billion to help.

“While the assessment will take several weeks to complete, the damages so far are staggering,” said the Manila-based ADB in a statement on its website.

Aid funding has improved, with nearly half the $459 million needed to fund initial relief efforts secured after days of lobbying donors. But the situation on the ground remained grim.

“The donors are improving their contribution. They are giving more and more. The response of donors to this crisis is getting better and better but it is still inadequate,” UN spokesman Maurizio Giuliano told Reuters.

Child trafficking is a big business in Pakistan. Giuliano expressed concern that since the floods have made millions homeless, children were at an even great risk of being forced into the trade.

“You may have families who take drastic measures because they need to survive. So even though we don't have any suggestion that it is happening already, this can be a concern,” he said.

Only a small minority of the six million Pakistanis desperate for food and clean water have received help after floods that have killed up to 1,600 people.

“According to rough estimates, over four million people in Sindh and Punjab still do not have a roof on their head,” said Giuliano.

“This situation is of high concern”.

Flood victims are turning on each other as aid is handed out and anger is rising over the government's perceived sluggish response to the crisis.

Hundreds of villages are isolated, highways and bridges have been cut in half by floods and hundreds of thousands of cattle — the livelihoods of many villagers — have drowned.

Many hospitals and medical camps are overwhelmed and fears are rising for possible epidemics of diseases and viruses such as malaria.

 

[Ahmad]

I saw this news in Ahmadis website, not sure how authentic it is:

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source / Credit: The Express Tribune
By Abdul Manan | August 18, 2010

The politics of relief: Aliens in their own land. 500 flood survivors from Ahmadiya community denied shelter, relief goods

MUZAFFARABAD: The government and local clerics refused to shelter around 500 flood-affected families belonging to the Ahmadiya community in South Punjab’s relief camps. Not only that, the government also did not send relief goods to the flood-hit areas belonging to the Ahmadiya community, The Express Tribune has learnt during a visit to the devastated Punjab districts of Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur.

For its part, the government claims that all relief goods are being distributed among survivors without discrimination. And that all survivors have been sheltered in relief camps without distinction. The flood-devastated families from the Ahmadiya community have strongly criticised the government’s “discriminatory attitude” even at a time when the entire country is reeling from the ravages of the worst flooding in living memory.


Of the 500 Ahmadi families, 350 belong to DG Khan, 60 to Muzaffargarh and 65 to Rajanpur district. According to Ahmadiya community leaders, over 2,500 members of their community have been displaced and are now living with their relatives while some of them have left for Rabwah, the community’s headquarters.

Aziz Ahmad Khan, a local leader of flood victims from the Ahmadiya community in DG Khan, told The Express Tribune that all members of his family have complained of discrimination in DG Khan. He said 200 families from Basti Rindan and Basti Sohrani, 60 from Chah Ismaeel Wala, three from Rakh Mor Jangi, 18 from Ghazi Ghat and 12 from Jhakar Imam Shah of Ahmadpur. Khan alleged that 200 families, who have been displaced from Basti Rindan and Basti Sohrani by flooding, took shelter in a state-run school at Jhok Utra but within days the local administration forced them to leave the school. He said the local administration later told them that people from the surrounding areas did not want the Ahmadis in the relief camp. And that the administration could not allow them to stay at the camp as it could create a law and order situation.

“So we left our cattle and other belongings in the area and took refuge in the homes of our community members on higher grounds,” he said, adding that some of them even migrated to Chanabnagar.

Muhammad Iqbal Sohrani, a member of the Ahmadiya community told The Express Tribune that around 40 Ahmadi families who took shelter in a state-run school at Jhakar Imam Shah near Sumandri, some 40 kilometres from DG Khan, have not received any relief either from philanthropists or from the government. He alleged that relief packages were being distributed through local lawmakers who have been told by the district administration that the Ahmadis are not eligible for any support.

Saleem Chandia, another Ahmadiya community member, said that he along with 40 other community members rented a house but after two days their landlord was forced by local clerics to evict them. Chandia said they were offered help by their own community members after wandering for several days in search of shelter.

Mansoor Ahmad, a resident of Muzaffargarh, told The Express Tribune that over 800 members of the Ahmadiya community were displaced from Bait Nasirabad, Masroornagar, Hussainwala and Shahjamal. At least 100 members of the community, from Hussainwala and Masroorabad, were trapped at Shahjamal. He claimed that they had asked the district police officer (DPO) and the district coordination officer (DCO) to provide them a boat or to rescue the trapped people but they did not take notice.

Ahmad claimed that the trapped Ahmadis were rescued by their fellows on a broken boat. He said local clerics have issued an edict that the Ahmadis should not be provided help.

Naseem Ahmad, from Rajanpur, told The Express Tribune that their 500 community members from the areas of Basti Lashari, Basti Allahdad Dareeshak and from Basti Azizabad were displaced. Their houses were washed away and the government and local clerics ignored them. He said that they were not allowed to stay in state-run schools or in camps, therefore the majority of them were living on the rooftops of their inundated houses.

“The Ahmadiya community itself rescued trapped people and delivered relief to them,” community spokesperson Saleem-ul-Din told The Express Tribune by phone.

He said that the community did not want any relief package from the government for its members. However, the government should protect the property and livestock of the Ahmadis.

Hassan Iqbal, Commissioner DG Khan, told The Express Tribune that he would check the situation. He asked the Ahmadis to directly approach him if they face discrimination anywhere in the district. However, DCO Muzaffargarh Farasat Iqbal said that the Ahmadis have not contacted him.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18th, 2010.

Ahmadiyya Times: Pakistan: 500 flood survivors from Ahmadiya community denied shelter, relief goods