Flood victims in Pakistan return home to start from zero

DADU, Pakistan (AA) – Flood victims returning to villages in Pakistan’s south are finding themselves having to rebuild their homes after they were flattened by last month’s devastating floods that submerged one-third of the country.

Allah Bachayo Phanwar stands as a stark example. Located on the outskirts of Dadu district in Sindh province, the remote village, like nearly all others in the area, was completely inundated by the floods forcing around 500 residents to take refuge on a nearby road.

The raging water levels have since receded, leaving behind nothing intact. The village is still surrounded by 4- to 5-foot deep water, giving it an island look. “Nothing is left intact here. We have to start from zero,” Mithal Chandio, a local farmer, told Anadolu Agency, pointing towards the razed walls and cracked wooden doors of his small house.

At least 500,000 Pakistani rupees (around $2,300) are needed to build a small house — money that many villagers don’t have and are finding it hard to earn given an economic slowdown in the country.

“We are facing a dual challenge,” another resident, Ghulam Omer, said. “First, we have to have money for reconstruction of our houses, and secondly arrange livelihoods as the massive rains and floods have already wiped out our crops,” he added.

There is also shortage of construction materials, particularly bricks, as almost 80% of the brick kilns in Sindh are closed due to the inundation of large swathes of land.

Even if bricks are available, their transportation is a big issue due to the inundation of roads.

A combination of torrential rains – 10 times heavier than usual – and apocalyptic floods have killed nearly 1,700 people across Pakistan since mid-June.

The devastation will cost $40 billion to fix, according to government estimates. The drenching monsoon, combined with massive floods, has damaged approximately 45% of the country’s cropland, posing a serious threat to food security.

Mohammad Musa Babbar, an official at the Al-Khidmat Foundation, one of the country’s largest relief and rescue organizations, said that the immediate drainage of floodwaters is essential for the resumption of economic activity and the reconstruction process.