Civil Society Flood Situation Report
Report -1, November 4, 2011
Prepared and released by
Peoples Accountability Commission on Floods [PACF]
Why Civil Society Report?
Floods have severely affected the lives and livelihoods of local communities in about 22 districts of Sindh. Millions of poor communities are homeless. The flood affected communities have lost all their summer crops and there is little possibility of sowing key winter crops as vast areas are still inundated and poor communities have no agriculture inputs and cash to invest on agriculture. This situation is emerging as a key threat of food insecurity in Sindh province of Pakistan. Besides, different kinds of dangerous diseases have engulfed the local communities severely affecting children women and elders.
In the face of such large scale disaster and its secondary affects the governmental and internal communities response is very lukewarm. Millions of poor flood affected communities are homeless and have no food to feed themselves and their children as the relief coverage of the government and other international agencies has very scope and coverage. Besides, the government’s relief activities are marred with corruption and political favours. The flood affected communities are in protest against such situation but there voice is not reflected in the government as well as international agencies reports and documents.
In such a situation, there was a dire need of an independent civil society regular report on the situation of the flood affected communities in the flood affected districts of Sindh. Although it is a big challenge but we as being responsible civil society members have taken this initiative and are committed to continue for long run.
Objectives of the report
· To highlight the real situation and the challenges being faced by the flood affected communities of Sindh province of Pakistan
· To highlight the gaps and issues in flood response and recovery of the flood affected communities by the government and international communities
· Bring forward the voice of the flood affected communities on the issues being faced by them
· Prepare and present suggestions for pro poor and sustainable relief , recovery and rehabilitation of the flood affected communities as per international humanitarian standards
Frequency of the report
Civil Society Flood Situation Report would be prepared and released to media and other stakeholders on weekly basis. This is the first report which is being released on Friday November 4, 2011.
Scale of the Flood Damages in Sindh Province
More than three months have passed now, what started as seasonal monsoon rains, prolonged to become Pakistan’s second greatest disaster within less than a years’ time. Pakistan is once again the victim of heavy rains and flooding which have affected about 6 million of population by now, with 1.8 million displaced (51% female) according to UN OCHA the total number of temporary settlements is estimated to be 6,000 including spontaneous sites.
While in addition to areas those were affected last year, new areas have also flooded in Sindh province of Pakistan. About 22 districts of Sindh have been affected; districts which hosted millions of people fleeing from their homes in the past floods are now under water and in need of urgent support.
In fact Sindh province faced worst ever floods of the history during this monsoon season (more devastating than the floods of 2010). Majority of the districts faced high floods due to heavy monsoon spells and breaches in LBOD and canal distributaries which resulted in inundation of the vast areas and displacement of around 6 million of population. As a result socio economic infrastructure of about ten worst hit districts has completely collapsed. Millions of displaced communities are still living under open sky along road sides, canal embankments and sand dune. More than 7000 villages have been uprooted and about 1000 people have died. The affected communities are facing severe food shortages as well as issues related to water and sanitation resulting in increase in the diseases and deaths.
Thousands of acres standing crops of cotton, sugarcane, fodder and seasonal vegetables washed away in flood water. Similarly millions of livestock including goats, sheep, cows and buffalos were affected due to this devastating flood. Affected population have to lose its assets including domestic utensils, furniture, clothes, jewellery, and stored food stuff like wheat, livestock and business fixtures. Affected communities are now under sky, waiting for food stuff, medicines, shelter, drinking water, security and moral support.
There are many evidences to substantiate that the current rains and floods would not have affected so heavily, had the government functionaries taken proper disaster preparedness, early warning and evacuation steps. The failure of the government in acting timely has increased the human and livelihood losses in Sindh province.
Role of Mega Irrigation and Drainage Infrastructures in the Floods
The flawed mega drainage infrastructure of Left Bank Outfall Drain [LBOD] has been responsible for flooding and devastation in Badin and other districts in its command areas during many floods. However, the federal and provincial government of Sindh has never taken it serious to redesign and modify the scheme to ensure that it does not kill the local communities during floods. World Bank despite being responsible for the flawed design of the scheme and acknowledging its flaws through its Special Panel refused to redesign and modify the scheme. Like 2007, when millions of the local communities were uprooted and many were killed as the LBOD started back flowing and overflowing, this time also millions of communities in Badin, Mirpurkhas and Sanghar district have been effected simply due to the over flowing, back-flow of LBOD and breaches in its main and sub drains.
Current Situation of Flood Affected Communities and Relief Support
Unfortunately the government and international community response towards the relief of the flood affected communities are very slow. UN has issued flash appeal for 357 million US$. This appeal was made on September 18, 2011 in Rapid Response Plan lead by UN Agencies. Despite passage of more than one and half months only 23 % of the assessed funding requirements have been received.
The developed and wealthy countries have not been generous in providing funding to the Pakistan during the floods of 2011. Out of 23 percent funding major portion [20.6%] has come from European Commission, while 17.6 % has come from the Central Reserve Fund of UN. US has 13.4 percent, Japan 9.0 percent and UK has 6.3 percent, while Norway, Australia, Denmark, Germany, Denmark and Sweden have contributed very less percentage of overall funding received. The Wealthy Muslim countries have almost no significant countries in the funding for flood affected communities of Sindh, Pakistan. The situation of support to the flood affected communities in different sectors is as under:
Status of Shelter Support
According to the official reports1.5 million houses were damaged in the floods in Sindh. It means owners of all these 15 lac houses are living under open skies. The international community acknowledged that 1 million houses have been damaged seriously and had committed to support those people. However, shelter support has been provided by the international community have provided tents and tarpaulins) to only 374,827 which constitute only 35 percent. It means 65 percent of the flood affected communities are still living under open skies. Almost all the tents are non winterized, which means none of the tents would withheld winter season which would result sever cold resulting in increased deaths and diseases among the flood affected communities. Tarpaulin sheets are never substitute of proper and decent tent even non- winterized.
Items
|
Need Assessment
|
Received
|
Percentage of Deprived HHs
|
Emergency Shelter
|
1,073,859
|
374,827
|
65%
|
Blankets
|
2,147,719
|
118,048
|
94.5%
|
Kitchen Sets
|
1,073,859
|
68,948
|
93.6%
|
Mats
|
2,147,719
|
138,366
|
93.6%
|
Similarly, the government and international humanitarian communities have failed in providing adequate support to the flood affected communities in other important items being part of shelter for example, blankets, kitchen sets and mates etc. As more than 90 percent of the flood affected communities are yet deprived of blankets, kitchen sets and mats etc.
UN agencies also acknowledge that with the onset of winter, the need for shelter, blankets and raised bedding is increasing. With the onset of winter, the risk of exposure increases particularly for the vulnerable segments of society. In the case of no proper shelter and bedding, there is a fear that thousands of flood affected communities especially vulnerable sections of population including children, women, elders and patients may die of extreme winter.
Status of Food Security Support
According to latest UN reports 3 million flood-affected people remain highly vulnerable and in need of immediate food assistance in Sindh and Baluchistan. Reports of high levels of malnutrition are being received from the flood affected areas, compounding an already dire nutrition situation in Sindh. The results of the 2011 National Nutrition Survey documented a general acute malnutrition rate of 17.5 % (well above the emergency threshold of 15 %) and a severe acute malnutrition rate of 6.6 % in Sindh prior to the 2011 floods.
However, the support in food is very measure in Sindh by the government and international humanitarian communities. According to the latest UN reports only 18 percent of the overall food security appeal amount has been collected resultantly the humanitarian agencies are facing problems in providing flood support to the affected communities. Till now very meagre section of flood affected communities is being provided food support.
Another issue which would further prolong and deepen the food insecurity in Sindh is that the on the one hand water is not receding from the cultivable land while on the other hand wherever, land is being cleared from water, there is no government support in the case of agriculture inputs. The flood affected communities are hearing government announcements in this regard, but no implementation yet. The winter season is on and if the growers did not receive agriculture support within a week or so they would not be able to cultivate crops and another season would be gone and this increase food insecurity situation in Sindh province.
According to UN reports Over 5 million people urgently require agricultural support to resume food production and income generation activities. Immediate resumption of Rabi (winter) crop production is essential where flood water has receded. Production of staple foods (e.g. wheat) and vegetables ensure that household food stocks are replenished in 2012. Wheat must be planted by the end of November. Seed for crops such as sunflower and canola can be distributed where land is ready for planting at a later stage. Planting multi-cut green fodder, which germinates quickly, will be vital to sustain surviving livestock in the coming months. Emergency feed and veterinary support must reach affected animals rapidly to ensure continued livestock survival.
Status of Health Related Support
With the passage of days, health related issues of flood affected communities are increasing as rain water is stagnant and winter is coming. Acute diarrhoea, skin diseases, malaria and acute respiratory infections (ARI) as the main diseases most prevalent and that incidents of water borne diseases (including acute watery diarrhoea), vector borne diseases (dengue and malaria) and ARI are increasing with the onset of winter. On 27 October an outbreak of diarrhoea was reported in a camp in district Sanghar resulting in three casualties.
According to field monitoring reports, the districts of Sanghar, Umer Kot and Tharparkar need special attention in sanitation, mother and child health, reproductive health and female health worker coverage issues. According to very recent WHO report among children under 5 years of age, Upper Respiratory Tract Infection was the most notified cause of morbidity (18 percent), followed by skin disease (16.6 percent), AWD (16 percent), suspected malaria (12.6 percent) and Lower Respiratory Tract Infection (4.1%). All diarrheal disease represented 17 percent and ARIs 22 percent of total morbidity in children under 5 years.
According to the same report a special field mission comprising of WHO representative and senior technical experts from Islamabad and Sindh provincial sub-office visited the WHO Humanitarian Hubs in Hyderabad and Sukkur to see and hear first-hand about the health impact of the flood emergency and the organization's operations throughout Sindh. They visited hospitals, health centers, nutrition stabilization centers, immunization sites and displaced persons in Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Larkana including Naudero, Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, and Community Midwives workstation in Village Katchi Unar.
The mission concluded that the conditions in which the flood-displaced persons are living in camps and temporary settlements is highly critical, with limited access to safe water and no functional sanitation facilities. Overcrowding, inadequate hygiene and poor nutrition increase the vulnerability of the affected population, and the situation continues to deteriorate with every passing day so that the risk of an overwhelming outbreak of waterborne disease is dangerously increased.
Despite such a serious situation, the government and international humanitarian community response in health related support is very slow and meagre. The funding flow from the donor community is very slow for the lifesaving health services in the affected districts of Sindh and Baluchistan as shown below where only 9% funds received so far against the total appeal of US$ 45,911,379 giving a gap of US$ 41 million till filing of this report.
Status of Support in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Safe water, sanitation and hygiene are very critical especially in the post disaster situation. It is because, in the case of unsafe water and poor sanitation and hygiene conditions after the disaster situation, many secondary disasters take place in the form of outbreak of diseases etc. Drinking water sources of Sindh are already largely contaminated, however this situation has further deteriorated in the post rain/ flood scenario. According to WHO report of 325 water sources tested by WHO Environmental Health Team, 86% were found contaminated and necessitating protection of water sources and treatment of water supplies systems. Similarly, the sanitation conditions are also largely poor in the province and have further deteriorated after rains/ floods. Despite such a situation, the government and international agencies relief activities in water, sanitation and hygiene are very slow and measure. According to the latest report issued by UNOCHA still 65 percent of the flood affected communities are not receiving safe drinking water and 76 percent have not received 76 sanitation facilities. The support in the hygiene is still far behind as 83 percent affected communities have not received any hygiene session and 77 percent have been deprived of hygiene kits. Further details are given in the following table:
Item / Activity
|
Need
|
Response
|
Percentage Remaining
|
Water
|
2.5 Million
|
867,272
|
65%
|
Sanitation
|
2.5 Million
|
195,504
|
76%
|
Hygiene sessions
|
2.5 Million
|
414, 034
|
83%
|
Hygiene kits
|
2.5 Million
|
398, 937
|
77%
|
According to UN OCHA, the flash appeal for water, sanitation and hygiene has received only 16 percent funds, which is key bottleneck for the humanitarian organizations to carry out relief activities in those sectors.
Inundation Situation
Although two months have passed to the rains and floods in Sindh, however still majority of the areas are under rain/ flood water. Both urban and rural areas are still inundated which have brought the social and livelihood activities to stand still. The government despite its announcements and promises has failed in initiating dewatering process. President of Pakistan had announced import heavy dewatering pumps from Dubai a month back, however, still no action has been taken to fulfil this commitment of the president.
According to the latest satellite pictures taken about the situation of receding waters from different districts, it is reported that 3751 square kilometres of Badin district had come under water during the rains / floods and despite the passage of two months still 1592 square kilometres are under water, which shows that still above 60 percent of the flooded areas in district Badin are still under water, similarly, in the case of Sanghar , Umerkot and Mirpurkhas almost 50 percent of the flooded areas are still underwater despite the passage of two months. As the winter has arrived which would reduce the level of water evaporation, which means receding of waters from these districts would still take four to five months. The standing waters would not only hinder the sowing of water crops but it is also inviting water borne diseases and rainwater standing for long time would be converting the fertile land into waterlogged and saline land.
District
|
Inundated Area in the floods
|
Still inundated area
|
Badin
|
3751
|
1592
|
Benazirabad
|
850
|
163
|
Mirpurkhas
|
1694
|
670
|
Sanghar
|
2554
|
1254
|
Umerkot
|
754
|
491
|
Source : Information Management Unit –FAO-ERCU- Pakistan -2011
| ||
Issues in Governments Pre and Post Flood Response
- Flawed Early Warning System
The flawed early warning systems of the responsible government institutions is also responsible for severe flood losses as there was never a comprehensive early warning for the whole rains saga. The early warning was in bits and pieces for different spells of rains and it was assumed with the each rain spell that it would be the last spell. It is unfortunate that despite being a flood prone country, Pakistan has no early warning system beyond four days, which is why there was no any clear idea of how overall rains would be devastating for Pakistan. And due to lack of this idea, the local communities and the local governments and civil society organizations failed to make adequate preparations for yet another devastating rain in the history of Pakistan.
2. Self Rescued People were send back to their homes
The ill planning of the government was more responsible for the human causalities than the natural factors during this year monsoon floods. Following the first and second spells of floods the local communities from the remotes parts of District Badin especially from the areas of Union Council Bugra Memon, Seerani etc sensed the danger of the onslaught of the rains and floods and left their homes to live in the temporarily established camps in Badin. However, the government functionaries forced them through police and other agencies to return back to their homes on basis of the government claim that there would be no more rains after the first and second spell of the rains. The district administration vacated the camps. However, once these thousands of poor communities were back to their remote homes, they were completely stuck up and engulfed in rain waters as a result of the next spells of heavy floods. Although Army rescued some families, however, there are reports of many deaths in LBOD Command areas as the poor families belonging to those remote areas could not be rescued by the government authorities. Later on many civil society organization workers / volunteers found dead bodies of the villagers after the rain spells ended and they were able to enter in these areas through boats.
- Blocking the way of international relief support
The key objective of National Disaster Management Authority [NDMA] is to save the lives and livelihoods of the local communities in the case of onslaught of any disaster, however the same NDMA refused to allow the UN and other international organizations to provide relief support to the local flood affected communities. A number of UN agencies and international NGOs wrote letters to NDMA right in August and September to come with the support of the local communities in the form of relief as they had already sensed the gravity of the situation. However, they were refused to allow them to provide relief to the local communities. Although the political statements with regard to managing the disaster at government level came from the leadership of Sindh Government during the initial spells of rains, however, it is said that Sindh Chief Minister Sayed Qaim Ali Shah gave such statement on the basis of presentation / advice given to him by NDMA officials.
The refusal to allow international communities to provide support to the flood affected communities resulted in the delay of at least one month to the relief support to the flood affected communities. This resulted in increased death due to no proper preparedness and resources for the rescue of the people and the affected communities also could not receive timely relief. Delay in the rescue and relief activities became responsible for hundreds of death of the flood affected communities.
Using Relief as a Political Tool
The federal and the provincial governments are violating international humanitarian standards of relief distribution failing to ensure equality and transparency in the system. There is no proper beneficiary registration, issuance of token etc. On the contrary, flood relief items are handed over the influential people of the government party who are favouring with the relief to their own people and refusing to support the political opponents. In some cases government party people are collecting truck of flood relief and are distributing among their own people without keeping any record of distribution. There are many reports that influential people of government party are using the floods as political tool.
There are reports that the government functionaries are using the floods as political tool. Flood relief items are handed over the influential people of the government party who are favouring with the relief to their own people and refusing to support the political opponents. In some cases government party people are collecting truck of flood relief and are distributing among their own people without keeping any record of distribution. There is parchi and Note on Application System in which those who have contact and connections with the elected representatives and governments party leaders are getting benefits and real flood affected communities are deprived of the assistance.
The political favouritism in the relief distribution is to the extent that poor and vulnerable flood affected communities are compelled to hoist government party flags on their on their camps / huts in a bid to get relief support which is their legitimate right. When displaced people were contacted and asked about the distribution process, they said, those who have political affiliations get the ration bags and tents. Those who are people of God are orphan and are punished for their lack of political association. We do not have any option except to put flag of political party particularly ruling party on our tents to get relief aid.
Civil Society Suggestions
· NDMA decision of stopping the international organizations to engage in relief activities is a major crime against the flood affected communities of Sindh. It is violation of international humanitarian conventions and commitments, which has resulted in deaths of a large number of flood affected communities and increased livelihood and other losses, therefore, a high powered judicial inquiry should be conducted into the matter and severe punishments should be awarded to those responsible for such crime.
· There is also need to revamp NDMA by decentralizing the agency through transformation of powers and authorities to the provinces and also giving space to the role of civil society in managing affairs of NDMA
· World Bank is also responsible for the deaths and widespread destruction in the Badin, Sanghar and Mirpurkhas districts which are in the command areas of Left Bank Outfall Drain [LBOD] and breaches in LBOD, its backflow at many places was responsible for the flooding of hundreds of villages and millions of acres of land. Therefore the government should strongly claim compensation from the World Bank of the losses of the communities occurred so far since the function of LBOD in Sanghar, Mirpurkhas and Badin districts of Sindh
· Federal Government , provincial government of Sindh and international humanitarian communities / organizations should increase the relief support to the flood affected communities in different critical sectors to save millions of local communities from starvation, diseases and deaths due to coming cold season.
