‘Flood losses greater per square kilometre this year’

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is likely to make national appeal within a day or two for assistance to the flood affected people in Sindh province, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Dr Zafar Qadir said on Monday.
He was addressing a press conference on relief measures taken by NDMA and the flood losses in Sindh.
He said the greatest damage was done on the left bank of Indus River. He said NDMA had been prepared for the 10 percent above normal rainfall forecast but actual rainfall was more than forecasted. He said rainfall was 72 percent above normal in July and 142 percent above normal in August. He said the NDMA had taken measures based on initial forecasts but when rainfall exceeded the forecast, NDMA could do nothing as Pakistan has a three-day weather forecast capacity.
Detailing the flood losses, he said 132 people had died, 60,000 to 100,000 livestock perished and 4 million acres of land was under water. He said crops spread over 7 million acre land had been totally or partially damaged in the current floods. He said around 4 to 5 million people were affected and the federal government had spent around Rs 1.5 billon on relief, excluding provincial expenses.
Referring to his meeting with Prime Minister, the NDMA chairman said the PM directed the Cabinet Division to immediately activate the National Health Emergency Response Unit to help the provincial government. He said the PM was likely to launch a national appeal for the assistance of flood victims within two days.
He said losses sustained in the current floods were greater than last years in terms of damage per square kilometer. He said over 2.3 million bales of cotton was estimated to have been lost in the floods. He said the federal government had provided around 0.6 million ration packs which were distributed among affected people. He said the NDMA had initially assessed the full capacity of the Utility Stores Corporation and Canteen Stores Department but was now planning to involve the private sector.
He said the government purchased the entire tent-making capacity of the country for 20 days and 10,000 new tents would be made available shortly. He said the NDMA had provided 40,000 tents so far. He said 8.5 million aqua tablets and one million sanitation tablets had been distributed. He said the NDMA would dispatch two teams after water receded in flood affected areas to assess the losses suffered by flood victims.