When Cyclone Yemyin hit Pakistan in June, it left huge areas of the country flooded and made 300,000 people homeless. Logistics coordinator, Janette MacLeod, describes how Merlin’s emergency team is helping the survivors.
As we drove out of the city of Quetta into the affected region of Balochistan, I was overwhelmed at how much of the land was submersed. It was the worst flooding I’d ever seen. I’d heard about the floods occurring in parts of southern England, but in Pakistan the water was affecting an area stretching for 400 miles.
Many of the roads in the region had been washed away. Everywhere families were taking shelter along the raised banks of swollen canals. At one point I saw the tower of a mosque emerging from water which must have been several metres deep.
The weather was the hottest I’d experienced as well. The temperature was topping 50 degrees, which meant dehydration was a serious risk for people surviving without adequate shelter.
With me were a team of two doctors, four other medics and two support staff. We set up a temporary clinic in the village of Kot Magsi and then organised several mobile teams to reach people camped out on isolated pockets of high ground. Eighty five people came to the clinic on its first day of operation; but as news of our presence spread, more and more people started coming in.
The stories of the people that arrived at the clinic, or were visited by our outreach teams, really hit home to me just how huge the need is in this part of Pakistan. What follows are just a few examples of the families Merlin has been able to help:
Seventy-year-old Allah Rakhee had to leave her village when the flood came. She and her family carried everything they could and set up camp on one of the levees which line the district’s main canal. For several days they had no food at all. The whole family of 15 people developed terrible skin infections caused by the dirty water which surrounded them for miles. Merlin’s outreach team treated the infection and supplied Allaha and her family with disinfection soap.
Punal Magsi came to Merlin’s clinic with an infected wound on his arm. He explained that he had been bitten by a dog ten days earlier, and although he had been given stitches at the time, he had been unable to get any further help because of the flooding. At the clinic staff were able to remove the infected stitches and clean the wounds. A course of anti-biotics and some pain killers completed Punal’s treatment.
Mohammad Yousuf arrived at Merlin’s clinic with a terrible body rash. He was diagnosed as suffering from tinea cruris, a fungal infection that affects people living amongst dirty water. Mohammad explained that he was “very scared” when he saw the rash develop and that his brother and sister had the same condition. The team treated him with antifungal cream and urged him to bring the rest of his family to the clinic for treatment.
Abdulllah had set up a temporary shelter for his family on higher ground after their home was inundated. When his children fell ill with diarrhoea and skin infection his brother took them to the nearest town to get away from the terrible living conditions. Abdullah stayed behind with his 80-year-old mother, hoping that they might be able to salvage something from their home when the water receded. Merlin’s mobile team visited them every few days to check on the health, provide safe drinking water and give advice on how to prevent malaria.
Essential supplies used in the first response to the floods
£2,100 Drugs - anti-biotics, painkillers, re-hydration solution 2080
£2,500 Medical Supplies - bandages, dressings, plaster, sutures, sterilizations fluid
£1,200 Medical Equipment – surgical instruments, scales, thermometers, record books
£3,000 Tents for mobile clinics
Merlin is aiming to raise £200,000 to enable its medical teams to stay in Balochistan for another four months and help survivors of the flood rebuild their lives.
Read more about Pakistan