ReliefWeb

Geneva / Islamabad, 28 August 2015: Today, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) launched an emergency appeal to support efforts by the Pakistan Red Crescent Society to provide emergency assistance to thousands of people affected by flooding in various areas of Pakistan.

Since mid-July, heavy monsoon rains all over the country, coupled with glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) in the north have caused flooding that has affected the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Punjab, Baluchistan and Sindh.

219 people have died and around 1.5 million have been affected by the floods which have destroyed about 24,000 homes and damaged infrastructure and a vast acreage of fruit orchards and ready to harvest crops.

The IFRC’s 1.5 million Swiss franc appeal (USD 1.53 million, 1.3 million Euros) aims to help the Pakistan Red Crescent reach 40,000 people with humanitarian assistance across nine districts in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan and Sindh provinces.

Rapid assessments indicate the priority needs are emergency shelter, food, safe drinking water and medical care. So far, the Red Crescent has distributed over 1,420 emergency shelters together with essential household items.

“Since 2010, flooding has become a chronic problem for Pakistan which is posing challenges for humanitarians. It is an undeniable fact that these floods are the result of climate change due to a shift in the weather patterns; the frequency and intensity of these types of disasters have changed in recent times,” said Gorkhmaz Huseynov, the IFRC’s Head of Delegation in Pakistan.

IFRC has already released funds from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund and is providing technical and in-kind support to the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, together with other partners in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement who have a presence in the country.

For further information, please contact:

In Islamabad:

Majda Shabbir, Senior Communications Officer, IFRC
Mobile: +92 322 5371994 E-mail: majda.shabbir@ifrc.org Twitter: @MajdaShabbir

In New Delhi:

Rosemarie North, Communications and Advocacy Manager, IFRC
Mobile: +91 8130918887 Email: rosemarie.north@ifrc.org Twitter: @rosemarienorth

In Kuala Lumpur:

Patrick Fuller, Communications Manager Asia Pacific, IFRC.
Mobile: +60 12 230 8451Email: patrick.fuller@ifrc.org Twitter: @pat_fuller