Over 14 million affected by flood disaster:

The number of people affected by the floods is worse than the tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake and the Haiti earthquake says the UN.

United Nations Higher Council for Refugees

WHERE IS THE LOVE?

Where is Pakistan?

Pakistan is in central Asia – northwest of India.

The Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province is in northern Pakistan – where the flooding started.

The flooding in Pakistan was caused by unusually high monsoon rain levels.

What is a monsoon?Monsoons, or rainy seasons, are a shift in wind direction which causes excessive rainfall in many parts of the world including Asia, North America, South America, and Africa. During most of the year, winds blow from land to ocean making the air dry. During certain months of the year, the winds begin to blow from the ocean to the land making the air moist. Winds formed over a body of water are called ‘maritime’. This moist ocean air is what causes monsoonal rains over many countries. About.com:weather

The graph below was created by Dr. David Petley who said, “The chart shows the cumulative total rainfall for five stations in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa Province. Note that the average monthly rainfall for July for each station is included in the legend. The magnitude of this rainfall event is clear - compare the actual monthly totals with the reported monthly averages.”

The flooding in Pakistan began on August 1st and was caused by monsoon rains when the Indus River overflowed.

“The image demonstrates the areas in which the flood is still spreading - a close look is quite horrifying actually - the scale of the disaster is so huge that the media are understandably struggling to provide an adequate picture of its extent.” (Dave Petley, Professor of Hazard and Risk in the Department of Geography at Durham University in the United Kingdom.)

The heavy rains caused the Indus River to flood and spread across the entire region. Areas further south flooded because connecting rivers flooded as well.

While many people drowned or were buried in resulting mud slides, others are stranded with no food or water.

An estimated 14 million people have been affected by the flooding. Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed

or badly damaged. Even the homes that are standing are filled with mud, and there furnishings are destroyed.

Families have lost their food, animals, and possessions.

More than 1600 have died and over 6,000,000 are homeless in what is

the country's worst floods since 1929.

Some people are still living by the edge of the water over two weeks after the floods hit the area. They have lost their homes and have no food.

Some are forced to live on the streets like this mother and her daughters.

People live and sleep where they

can.

Some flood victims are ‘lucky’ enough to be in a *refugee tent camp.

*A refugee is a person who has to leave their home to be safe.

But living in a tent is not always healthy. It is difficult to stay dry when it rains, and there are

no toilets or food.

Children and their families try to reach refuge* camps such as one in the Sultan Colony – which is in the Province of Punjab.

*Refuge means safety or a safe place.

Flood victims struggle to get food during a food distribution by a local Muslim organization offering rice for the hungry survivors over two weeks after the floods started. That means they had no food coming in for 14 days!

Besides food, people need fresh drinking water. The only water they had was the flood water until

(finally) a supply of fresh water was provided.

At least 10,000 cows have drowned over the past eight days.

Why would this be dangerous?

What happens when thousands of people are living together in tents or on the streets with no clean water, no toilets, and dead animals? "Up to 3.5 million children are at high risk of deadly water-borne diseases…" a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Monday, estimating the total number at risk from such diseases to be around six million.August 16, 2010 – Al Jazeera News

Cholera, which can spread rapidly after floods and other disasters, poses a serious threat, says the UN. The disease has been detected in the northwest.Typhoid and hepatitis outbreaks are also a risk as survivors of the floods, which have killed at least 1,600 people, are forced to drink unclean water to survive.The health warning comes a day after Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, said that the disaster was the worst he had ever seen and renewed calls for international aid donations.August 16, 2010 - Al Jazeera News

What is cholera?Cholera is a dangerous illness caused by infection of the intestine from a bacteria. The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but sometimes it can be severe.SYMPTOMS: * extreme watery diarrhea* vomiting, and * leg cramps. Without treatment, death can occur within hours.

What is typhoid?Typhoid fever is an acute (severe) illness associated with a high fever that is most often caused by the Salmonella typhi or Salmonella paratyphi bacteria. The bacteria are deposited in water or food by a human carrier and are then spread to other people in the area.SYMPTOMS: * poor appetite* headaches * aches and pains * fever (as high as 39-40° C)* lack of energy * diarrhea What is hepatitis?Hepatitis A is a severe illness that can be spread through food or water, especially where unsanitary conditions allow water or food to become contaminated by human waste such as in flooding. SYMPTOMS: * loss of appetite * nausea * vomiting * fever * weakness * tiredness* aching in the stomach area

What kind of help is being given to the victims of the flood?

Pakistan’s army helicopters are dropping relief supplies at a heavily flooded area of Rajanpur, in central Pakistan. But is this enough?

Pakistani soldiers are trying to rescue those who are caught in the flood waters.

Some are critical of the Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari, who did not visit the worst hit areas

until August 12.

UN Secretary General, Ban Ki- moon, visited the area and said, "I will never forget the destruction and

suffering I have witnessed today. In the past I have visited the scenes of many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this," he said. "The scale of this disaster is so large, (with) so many people, in so many

places, in so much need."

Last week the UN and its partners announced they are seeking nearly 460 million U.S. dollars to help Pakistan with the needs of flood-affected families, including food, clean drinking water, tents and other shelter and non-food items, as well as medical supplies.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA) reported over the weekend that although the scale of the disaster continues to expand, just 20 percent -- some 93 million U. S. dollars -- of the funding requirements set out in the Pakistan Initial Floods Response Emergency Plan have so far been covered.

In the meantime, people are waiting…homeless.

What can we at AIS in Bali do? Our school’s mission:Asian International School, Bali aims at the creation of a community of knowledgeable, self-reliant, principled and caring individuals, who by the content of their character and the superiority of judgment would be able to lead the world.

Write your ideas below…

Many pictures taken from http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Compiled by Debby on behalf of all of us and all of them… information taken from news articles and UN web site.