The night of 29 and morning of 30 July 2002 the Rohri canal broke its
banks causing the water to flood the surrounding villages. Rohri Canal
is one of the canals that are part of the Sukkur Barrage in the Indus
River which irrigates an area of 8,285 million acres. The onrush of
water from the canal was so rapid that within 4-5 hours around 22 large
villages were inundated. A warning of the impending disaster, telling
people to leave their homes immediately, was made from mosque loud speakers
and the villagers fled their homes leaving all possessions behind. Many
of the families fled to Hyderabad and Mirpur khas and a nearby sub-urban
area called Veet Shah - around 8 kilometers away from the devastated
villages. Other families sought refuge on higher grounds and embankments
while some took shelter with relatives in villages not threatened. The
affected villages are still under 4 to 6 feet of water.
Impact of the Disaster
Although no deaths have been reported the damage is immense. According
to information 40% of kuttcha and 60% of pucca houses have been damaged
and people are living exposed to the elements. Sanitary or pit latrines
built by the villagers have also been totally destroyed by the flooding.
Crops such as cotton, chilli, sugar cane, onion seed and other local
crops are completely destroyed and mango gardens and banana trees are
also under water. People have lost their food stores such as wheat,
rice and essential daily foods. The water pumps and tube wells are under
water and potable water is not available – many people are having to
drink the canal water. There are currently no emergency medical supplies
available at the government run-stores and water-borne diseases such
as diarrhoea, cholera and malaria are increasing as well as the incidence
of snake bites. Doctors warn that jaundice and skin diseases will also
increase if proper medical attention is not provided.
Relief and other Assistance
3,134 persons (510 families) have taken shelter in Veet Shah schools
and the numbers were still rising. The Government Relief Department
is now providing them with food - bread, rice, minced rice and lentils.
The Health Department in Hyderabad has deputed one medical officer to
each of the Veet Shah Schools where the doctors are treating the sick
free of cost. However, there are not sufficient supplies of antibiotics
and snake bite serum available.
The community leaders and local people are afraid that those who have
taken shelter in Veet Shah School (3,134 individuals) will not be able
to stay there for long as the school will be reopened and the authorities
will ask them to leave. There is also a fear that the GoP will not provide
them with food for more than 2 weeks. Once they leave the schools they
will have nowhere to live and no work to enable them to buy food – the
crops have been destroyed and the land is still under water.
No government assistance has been provided for those who are sheltering
elsewhere - on the road-sides and embankments or near the devastated
villages. The Sindh Rural Development Council (SRDC) and the Health
and Nutrition Development Society (HANDS) have made efforts to reach
the vulnerable people in distant villages.
During the primary assessment it was revealed that around 26% of the
proposed beneficiaries are from the Hindu minority community. These
beneficiaries were already living below the poverty line. They were
normally engaged in farming and other labouring jobs, which now do not
exist because the land is completely under water.
ACT member Church World Service Pakistan/Afghanistan
(CWSP/A) plans to provide emergency Food and Shelter assistance
through the Indus NGOs Network (INN) of which CWS is a core member,
to 1,500 most vulnerable families living in 42 villages under the union
council Fakir Nooh Hothyue in Hyderabad.
Implementation Period
Six months
Budget summary (US$)
Food items: 94,980
Shelter materials: 413,205
Operational expenses: 57,962
Total budget: 566,147
ACT CO will be issuing an appeal later this week.
