PAKISTAN:  UN COUNTRY TEAM RESPONDS TO NATURAL DISASTERS

NEW YORK, 14 February (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) -- Heavy snowfall, torrential rains and burst dams have killed more than 300 people in Pakistan over the past two weeks.  Rain and snow continue to cause heavy damage in Pakistan’s northern areas, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, north-west frontier province (NWFP), Balochistan and parts of PunjabProvince.

In Balochistan, Shadi Kaur Dam burst after more than two weeks of heavy rains.  According to the local authorities, the number of death has increased to 82, while more than 1,500 persons are still reported missing.  Five villages and five wards of Pasni township have been severely affected with over 5,500 people still trapped in floodwater and many houses destroyed.  Some 40,000 acres of standing crops is considered completely destroyed.  There are reports of nearly half a million people being badly affected by heavy rains and flood with estimates of 4,000 families without shelter.

As many as 46 persons have been reported to be killed as a result of avalanches in Azad Jammu and Kashmir region.  On 12 February, a huge avalanche hit at least four houses in Kohistan district, as a result of which at least 42 persons were buried alive raising the total death toll for NWFP to 194.

In response, the United Nations Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) in Pakistan will deploy a team comprising of members from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to support the Government of Pakistan in its own efforts.  The team is expected to assemble at Gwadar, Balochistan, by Tuesday, 15 February, at the latest and undertake needs assessment for emergency humanitarian relief requirements in close cooperation with the provincial and district government officials.

As an immediate step, UNICEF Pakistan is rushing a truckload of relief items to Bela for distribution among the affected populations.  This consignment comprises of emergency food rations, aqua tabs, water purification tablets, toilet soap, jerry cans, filter cloth, fibre glass tank, plastic containers, sweaters, woollen blankets and water filters.  The UNHCR will contribute $20,000 in the form of tents and other shelter items, which will be delivered to the affected populations in Pasni and Gawadar.  The WHO will contribute $25,000 worth of emergency medical supplies for the affected population.  The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is contributing through the UNDP Islamabad $30,000 for the purchase of tents and blankets.  Possibility is being explored by OCHA for additional allocation for shelter needs, as the requirements are enormous.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA New York, tel.:  917 367 5126, mobile:  917 892 1679; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel.:  41 22 917 2653, mobile:  41(0) 79 473 4570.

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