“Water levels at Lake Manchar are dangerously high, and although officials deliberately breached the lake to try and protect more densely populated areas further downstream, there’s still a very real risk that the lake will burst its banks, threatening the lives and livelihoods of huge numbers of people.”
By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: The United Nations has warned that the humanitarian situation in Pakistan was expected to get worse, as authorities are desperately trying to stop the biggest lake from bursting its banks after all previous attempts to lower water levels failed.
Manchar Lake in Sindh is dangerously full of water from the monster monsoons that inundated a third of the country and claimed more than 1,300 lives this summer. Authorities and villagers have tried to widen the breach at Manchar Lake to lower water levels but that has proved to be futile so far.
Reuters reported that already, 100,000 people have been displaced in efforts to keep the lake from overflowing, and hundreds of thousands more could be affected if it breaches its banks.
Adil Sheraz, country head of humanitarian group CARE said water levels at Lake Manchar are dangerously high, “and although officials deliberately breached the lake to try and protect more densely populated areas further downstream, there’s still a very real risk that the lake will burst its banks, threatening the lives and livelihoods of huge numbers of people.”
“Sindh province is one of the most food insecure in the country, so we are very concerned about the implications of this latest threat on vulnerable groups, including women and children.”
The WHO warned that waterborne diseases are already present in the country and “are getting worse.”
“We have already received reports of an increased number of cases of acute watery diarrhea, typhoid, measles, and malaria, especially in the worst-affected areas,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said in Geneva. “Rescue and aid workers are still having problems getting to some hard-hit areas. The situation is expected to worsen.”
The WHO said over 6.4 million people need humanitarian support in the flooded areas and has appealed for $19 million from donors for medicines and emergency stockpiles, including tents, water-purification kits, and oral rehydration packs.
The WHO said over 1,460 health centres had been damaged, of which 432 were fully wrecked, mostly in Sindh. More than 4,500 medical camps have been set up by the WHO and its partners, while more than 230,000 rapid tests for acute watery diarrhea, malaria, dengue, hepatitis, and chikungunya have been distributed.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) also warned that the situation could worsen with more rain expected in the coming month. “This will increase challenges for flood survivors, and likely worsen conditions for nearly half a million displaced people, forcing more to abandon their homes,” said Indrika Ratwatte, the agency’s director for Asia and the Pacific.
Azra Fazal Pechuho, the provincial health minister said Sindh region already faces the dangers of water-borne and skin diseases, dengue fever, snake bites, and breathing issues.
Pechuho said 856,000 patients had been treated since the flooding began in July, mostly from the field and mobile hospitals. “Over 1200 of our health facilities are underwater and field hospitals are receiving nearly 20,000 diarrhea and 16,000 malaria cases daily.”
Meanwhile, international aid is surging to the flood-ravaged country while
China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and other countries are lending a helping hand to Pakistan. Also, Japan pledged to give emergency aid of $7 million, Qatar launched an air bridge and the UN refugee agency mounted a huge airlift operation from Dubai.
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