PAKISTAN: RELIEF OPERATIONS TO BE MASSIVELY SCALED UP, AS FLOODS REACH SINDH

(New York / Geneva / Islamabad: 07 August 2010): Humanitarian needs in flood-devastated Pakistan are on a similar level to those that arose following the country's 2005 earthquake, which had affected more than 3 million people and wrecked large areas.

"The assistance that we have so far provided has alleviated suffering, but relief operations need to be massively scaled up", said Martin Mogwanja, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan. "Shelter, plastic sheeting and household goods are the most important gap. Stocks need to be urgently airlifted to the affected areas, and we count on donors to assist with this", he added.

The devastating floods, which have ravaged large parts of north-western and central Pakistan over the past days, have meanwhile also reached Sindh Province. The province is located in the country's extreme south, on the north-eastern shore of the Arabian Sea.

"The water levels are very high, and the risk of serious flooding is increasing rapidly", said Andro Shilakadze, Chief of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Field Office in Sindh, "We are planning for the worst-case scenario, so that we can provide emergency relief as may become necessary". At least 150,000 people have so far been evacuated by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) from Sindh's low-lying areas, and over 400 relief points have been established to assist them.

Assessments are underway in Punjab, located in the country's east, where it is estimated that at least 1.6 million people have been affected. An estimated 84,000 homes have been destroyed, leaving up to 500,000 people homeless in the province. At least 1.4 million acres of agricultural land was destroyed in Punjab alone, where people rely heavily on agriculture for their food supply.

In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK), where damage has been worst, initial emergency assistance has been provided by the humanitarian community in the domains of food, clean water, and shelter. Much more needs to be done, and the aid machine is working at full speed. "The needs are enormous, and the water continues to rise", said Ahmed Warsame, head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Peshawar. "Tomorrow, we plan to start delivering 4,000 tents and 4,000 plastic sheets in the Asakhel refugee settlement", he added.

Torrential rains started to hit Pakistan two weeks ago. The situation led to serious flooding during the last week, which is estimated to have affected at least four million people across the country. Many more millions are bound to be indirectly affected by food shortages, if sufficient assistance is not received in time.

For further information, please call: OCHA Islamabad: Maurizio Giuliano, +91 300 8502397, giuliano@un.org; OCHA New York: Stephanie Bunker, +1 917 367 5126, bunker@un.org; Nicholas Reader, +1 212 963 4961, reader@un.org OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.intt