Situation Analysis
Description of the disaster
Monsoon rains together with glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) pounded several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh and Pakistan Administered Jammu and Kashmir State (PJK) in Pakistan during mid-July 2015. The flooding caused damage to more than 4,111 villages, affecting 1,572,191 people with 238 reported deaths and 232 persons injured. More than one million people were evacuated with 835 relief camps established.1 The provinces of KP and Punjab were amongst the worst hit where the flooding caused damage to houses, crops and infrastructure.
Soon after the onset of disaster in mid-July, Pakistan Red Crescent (PRC) conducted assessments in KP, Punjab and Sindh, identifying need for emergency health services, food, emergency shelter and essential household items. At the start of the operation, access to safe drinking water also emerged as one of the top priorities in the affected areas, as drinking water sources, such as hand pumps, boreholes, and tube wells were either damaged or inundated.
Summary of response
Overview of host National Society
The PRC national headquarters lead a rapid need assessment which informed the plan of action (PoA) of disaster relief emergency fund (DREF) launched on 12 August 2015. However, after conducting detailed assessment and considering the scale of the disaster on 27 August 2015, an emergency appeal was launched to support 38,570 people in six districts of three provinces including KP, Punjab and Sindh. The appeal was later revised on 14 December 2015 to CHF 550,477 to continue provision of assistance to 38,570 people.
With the help of the emergency appeal, the PRC was able to achieve the following:
- Detailed assessment, which informed the needs and selection of beneficiaries.
- 21,000 people (3,000 families) reached through distribution of 3,000 food packs in Sindh.
- 18,080 people (2,510 families2 ) assisted with non-food items3 in Sindh, Punjab and KP.
- 4,192 people (524 families) in Chitral, KP received household water filters as well as information regarding their use.
- 3,630 people in affected districts of Sindh reached through services delivered by one mobile health unit.
- Procurement of 5,000 blankets, 3,500 mosquito nets, 1,000 solar-powered lamps and 2,900 household water filters completed to replenish the disaster preparedness (DP) stock.
To support coordination and partnership, the PRC convened two meetings (the first on 28 July and the second on 11 August) to update Movement partners on the flood situation, the immediate response actions, planned activities and opportunities for support.
Overview of Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in country
The IFRC assumed a coordination role and maintained regular communication with in-country and external Movement partners interested in providing support to the National Society. The IFRC Pakistan country office shared regular updates on the PRC response activities with humanitarian actors in the country through fora such as the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), UNOCHA and the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum (PHF). The IFRC country office team provided technical support to the PRC in mobilisation of financial resources for the response operations by launching DREF and emergency appeal. The Canadian Red Cross Society contributed to the appeal, while Danish Red Cross and Turkish Red Crescent Societies provided bilateral support to the National Society.
Overview of non-RCRC actors in country
At national level, the NDMA took the lead in coordinating the response. At provincial and district levels, the response was coordinated by the respective provincial, state and district disaster management authorities. Additionally, at the district level, PRC branches worked in collaboration with the District Deputy Commissioners who were responsible for coordinating the response efforts at district level.