Rains, floods in Sindh: NDMA begins meeting with NGOs for assessment of losses

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has started co-ordination meetings with the non-government organisations (NGOs) to discuss the assessment of losses caused by the recent floods.
Well-placed sources told Business Recorder here on Wednesday that there were about 1940 different local and international NGOs that intend to work in the Lower Sindh heavy rains coupled with floods caused 226 deaths and damaged 95 percent of the crops.
Most of the NGOs have already started their rescue and relief work in flood-affected areas of Badin, Dadu, Gotki, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Kamber Shahdadkot, Kashmore, Khairpur, Larkana, Matiari, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Shikarpur, Sukkur, T. Allahyar, Thatta and Umarkot.
The NGOs are gathering data of losses caused by the floods on daily basis. For example, some of the NGOs are working against loss to agriculture sector, some are gathering information about loss to infrastructure, some NGOs are working and gathering data about different diseases caused by floods in Lower Sindh like Malaria, typhoid, and other skin diseases. The data gathered on daily basis is now being discussed with the District Management Committees (DMCs) and then will be exchanged among the NGOs. "During the reconstruction process, a donors' conference will be arranged on the basis of the above-mentioned assessment," the sources added.
Some 5.3 million people are now affected by the floods in Pakistan and the situation is feared to worsen in the coming days. More than 4.2 million acres of land has been flooded and standing crops over 1.59 million acres of land has been destroyed in Sindh.
The NGOs like Edhi foundation, Pakistan Red Crescent Foundation, Rural Support Program Network (RSPN), Give a Home, Maymar Trust, save the children, Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), Muslim Hands, and Helping Hand have started relief work in affected areas. Edhi Foundation has provided food packs, tents, and warm clothes in different districts of Sindh while Oxfam will be supplying clean water and sanitation to nearly 850,000 people affected by the flooding. It is already delivering water to two of the worst affected districts of Sindh province, Sanghar and Mirpurhkhas, while rescue and evacuation operations are also being carried out in Sanghar, Tando Allahyar, Umerkot. Oxfam also has plans to help people get access to food and is developing projects to help people earn a living.
"There is an urgent need to provide immediate and life saving relief to the millions affected. It hasn't stopped raining in Sindh for the last 10 days. Large swathes of land are underwater and people are desperately awaiting relief. They have lost their crops, homes and livestock for the second time - and been pushed from last year's disaster to this one," said Neva Khan, the Country Director of Oxfam in Pakistan, who visited some of the worst affected areas in lower Sindh.