Pakistan floods: Desperation and displacement in Sindh province – BBC

The Prime Minister of Pakistan has said the “magnitude of the calamity” is bigger than expected, after visiting flood-hit areas.

Shehbaz Sharif was speaking from Sindh province – which has had nearly eight times its average August rainfall.

The floods have killed nearly 1, 000 people across Pakistan since June, while thousands possess been displaced – and millions more affected.

As the BBC drove through Sindh, there were displaced people in every village.

The full scale from the devastation in the province is yet to be fully understood – but the people described it as the worst disaster they’ve survived.

Floods are not uncommon in Pakistan, yet people here said these rains were different — more than anything that’s ever been seen. One local official called them “floods of biblical proportions”.

Near the city of Larkana, thousands of mud homes have sunk under water. For miles all that’s visible is treetops. Where the water level is slightly lower, thatched roofs creep out from underneath the drinking water.

In one village, the people are desperate for food. In another, many children have developed waterborne diseases.

When a mobile truck pulled over, scores of people immediately ran towards it. Children carrying other children made their way to the long queue.

One 12-year-old girl said she and her baby sister had not eaten for a day.

“No food has come here, but my sister is sick, she has been vomiting, ” the girl said. “I hope they can help. ”

The desperation was evident in every community. People ran towards car windows to ask for help – anything.

On one associated with the main streets out of the city of Sukkur, hundreds of people have got settled.

Many of them walked from remote villages, and were told that help is easier to get within the urban areas. But there’s not much difference here.

On Friday, PM Sharif said 33 million people had been hit by the particular floods – about 15% of the country’s population.

He stated the losses caused by floods this season were comparable to those during the floods of 2010-11 , said to be the worst on record. The country has appealed with regard to more international aid.

In Sindh, it’s not that local authorities are not trying, but they admit that they are out of their depth.

The provincial government says this is a “climate change catastrophe” and that the people associated with Pakistan, especially in the poorer communities, have been the worst affected.

The solutions will not be quick : acres of land are waterlogged and the water is not receding fast enough for any rebuilding to take place here.

There’s not much to do regarding the people but to wait – wait for the particular rains to stop, wait for the water to go down, wait for more resources to be allocated to these kinds of communities.

In the meantime, life continues to be difficult.