Over a thousand people have died, and millions have lost their homes across Pakistan as torrential rains hit the country. Widespread rain and thunderstorms have also struck districts Mirpurkhas and Umerkot of Sindh province, where a majority of Community World Service Asia’s humanitarian and development programmes are focused.
We covered far-flung flood-affected areas for the organisation to collect visuals and appeals. These extreme rains are critically affecting vulnerable communities already living in challenging circumstances and have damaged infrastructure in the area, with no electricity and limited communication access.
People were forced to abandon their homes as crops and livestock washed away across the province. These communities need food, tents, clean drinking water, mosquito nets, ration bags and hygiene kits. Hundreds of miles of roads have been damaged, making many areas in Sindh inaccessible to emergency services.
Pakistan is in the middle of the food, climate, water, population and environmental crisis. We are home to the hottest cities in the world for three years straight, with temperatures rising up to 53.7C, which is an unlivable situation.
By collecting visual content and doing a need assessment, Community World Service Asia coordinates with the local government and other stakeholders to closely monitor the situation on the ground and start immediate relief operations.
Two boys comfort each other as they look out to where their homes used to be
During the 2015 floods in Pakistan, I created video appeals to raise funds for immediate response. One of the photographs I took during a flood response program was selected to be exhibited at the State of the Humanitarian System (SOHS) launches worldwide and SOHS material by ALNAP (Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance).
