UN relief efforts continue

UN relief efforts continued in flood-hit areas as the number of people uprooted by the worst floods continues to rise and the scale of the disaster becomes better understood. The flooding, triggered by monsoon rains, has already claimed an estimated 1,400 lives and wreaked havoc in neighbouring eastern Afghanistan as well.
A rapid assessment of the situation in Pakistan has found that nearly one million people have been displaced by flooding in Nowshera, Charsadda, Mardan and Peshawar, four districts in the hard-hit province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, an official in UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
Nearly 100,000 homes have been destroyed in these districts, while some 50,000 others have sustained damage. Nowshera alone is home to over 650,000 affected people, while in some parts of Charsadda, water have destroyed all crops. While figures for other districts and provinces are not available yet, it is estimated that up to 2 or 3 million more people could have been forced to leave their homes by the rains and floodwaters.
OCHA official said those affected urgently need emergency aid, especially food, clean drinking water, tents and medical services, adding that tens of thousands of people have sought shelter and assistance at schools, football stadiums and other public buildings.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is providing safe drinking water for some 500,000 people in KP, and has set up 24 medical camps with its partners to reach 1 million people. UN World Food Programme (WFP) had distributed food to more than 40,000 people in four districts and plans to expand its operations to other districts shortly, expecting to feed 250,000 people by the end of the week.
For its part, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has distributed some 10,000 tents and other supplies and is aiming to initially reach at least 250,000 of the most vulnerable flood victims with blankets, shelter and other items. The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) has provided enough diarrhoea treatment kits, health kits and emergency medicine for 200,000 for one month, while the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has provided 2,500 medical consultations as well as supplies. OCHA cautioned that this is only the start of the monsoon season, with rains expected to continue into early next month.