Pakistan Floods 2011

More than 8 million Pakistani people have been affected by flooding, caused by heavy monsoon rains in August and September 2011. The Sindh Province was one of the worst hit regions as 41,300 villages (23 out of 24 districts) were washed away.

Islamic Relief has been active in Pakistan since 1992 and has gained considerable recognition from local communities, government and international aid agencies for playing a leading role in the relief efforts after the October 2005 earthquake and the 2010 floods which killed 1,600 people and shattered the lives of 14 million others.

Our staff and dedicated volunteers have thus far assisted close to 20,000 stranded men, women and children with emergency food, water and temporary shelter. Many victims of the current disaster were still recovering from last year’s devastating floods.

According to Ateeq Rehman, an Islamic Relief aid worker, “so many people are in need of help and we [Islamic Relief] is supporting them. It is vital that we are on the ground, responding to what’s happening right now in Pakistan.”

“People need food, shelter, clean water, medicines – all the basic essentials of life, everything that normally becomes difficult for them to access when a crisis like this takes place,” he added.

At the time of going to press, Islamic Relief has distributed close to 6,000 food packs whilst the installation of water tanks and the distribution of water purification tablets across affected areas has led to thousands of people having access to clean water.

“5,000 households have benefited from our help so far and we are aiming, initially, to reach 30,000 families, which works out as around 210,000 people – the majority of who are women and children.” Rehman explained.

He made an urgent appeal for more donations which would ensure that Islamic Relief can continue its relief efforts to the affected people, who were still recovering from last year’s devastating floods.

“The vital work we are able to do depends on the amount of resources we have so we desperately need more donations so we can continue to reach more and more people in need of our support,” Rehman urged.

Islamic Relief will remain in the area and continue to distribute aid and assist victims of this catastrophe.