Post Flood Rapid Assessment for Early Recovery Programme

Post Flood Rapid Assessment Report, HANDS Post Flood Rapid Assessment For Early Recovery Programme HANDS September 2010, M ALI SHAIKH 1 Post Flood Rapid Assessment Report, HANDS Contents Page PURPOSE OF THE ASSESSMENT AND TERMS OF REFERENCE 3 Background 5 PRIORITIES INTERVENTIONS 6 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF FINDINGS 6 PROGRAMME RECOMMENDATIONS 8 RECOVERY AND IMPROVEMENT OF FARM PRODUCTION SYSTEMS: 8 FACILITATING MARKETING 9 CASH FOR WORK 9 LIVESTOCK 9 LIVESTOCK FEED 12 SHELTER 13 Recovery Programme Implementation Strategy 13 Recommended early recovery package for Family and a village 14 Annexure 15 1- List of Villages and UCs affected in each district 2- List of villages assessed 3- List of Staff involved in assessment 4- Pictures 5- Sketches 2 Post Flood Rapid Assessment Report, HANDS 3 Post Flood Rapid Assessment Report, HANDS Acknowledgements The consultant would like to thank HANDS management for initiating the assessment and Emergency staff for facilitating logistics. The consultant is particularly grateful to the assessment team from Jacobabad, Dadu, Sukkur, Thatta, Kashmore and Shikarpur for the assessment. The consultant is grateful to participants of the assessment, and line managers who gave their time to participate in the assessment. PURPOSE OF THE ASSESSMENT AND TERMS OF REFERENCE The objectives of the study were (1) to assess the early recovery needs and, (2) to test existing program ideas and further develop program options based on priority needs of the most vulnerable people in the affected communities Assessment Focus The assessment took place in the geographical areas that HANDS is executing its emergency operations in the wake of recent supper flood i.e. Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Dadu, Sukkur, Thatta and Kashmore districts. The needs assessment was conducted between September 21st and September 25th. One consultant was hired to lead the assessment. Methodology The assessment incorporated a review of project documentation, interviews with key informants. The methodology utilised focus group discussions, key informant interviews through structured questioner and secondary reports. The focus combined a qualitative and participatory approach to illustrate perceptions and priorities in-group discussions. This incorporated priority ranking of problems and suggested programme interventions, vulnerability ranking as well as a variety of other livelihood components. In total, 80 Focus Group Discussions were held in 60 villages including men and women. Of the 80 focus group discussions, 15 in Jacobabad 20 in Shikarpur 05 in Sukkur 10 in Kashmore 10 in Thatta 20 in Dadu Sampling Sampling was focused according to level of damages, proximity with markets, displacement patterns, and camps both official and spontaneous. Group discussions also distinguished between men, women and mixed. Programme Zoning of Proposed Area of Intervention Within the flood-affected areas, HANDS divided programme area in three zones the Northern, Central and Southern Sindh. The assessment sampled villages from all zones. Workshops and Training Training cum workshop was held with assessment team addition to syntheses meeting. The first one-day training workshop covered the following: Review & Composition of FGD Form Post Flood Issues Early Recovery Livelihood, Infrastructure Water and Sanitation 4 Post Flood Rapid Assessment Report, HANDS Limitations and Constraints to Approach Used The assessment adopted a participatory approach. Inaccessible roads impeded the fieldwork of the team in some places of Dadu, Thatta and Kashnore districts. Background Pakistan facing region’s worst flood for 100 years, due to heavy monsoon rains, most of area of Khyber Pakhtounkhua (KP) , number of districts in Punjab and Baluchistan ,and right bank districts of Sindh badly affected and flooded , more than 14million people had been affected which is more than tsunami and earthquake 2005. More than 3000 people have been killed and many still missing. Recent unprecedented monsoon rains and devastating floods in KP and Punjab entered in Sindh in late August with its full swing and turned its intensity into one of the worse floods in the history. It surged pressure on both the banks of river Indus and its flood protection bunds, many bunds breached after pressure mounted on Guddu and Sukkur barrage thus flooding low laying (Kachha) and pakka areas and displacing hundreds of people from villages on both banks of river. Situation is worsening on both the banks, especially Kashmore.Jacobabad, Shikarpour, Larkana, Dadu. Initial assessments conducted by HANDS reveal that has caused loss of 200 human lives, killed hundreds of animals, displacing more than 1,450,000 individuals, more than 2million houses submerged or collapsed in affected districts. The flood had a serious impact on livelihoods, Infrastructure and in terms of food availability and access destroying food and seed stocks and supplies, productive and non- productive assets, income sources, banks, shops, roads, vehicles as well as human capital and dismantled social cohesion and disintegrated families. Three quarter of the rural population lost their houses rendering 1,450,000 people homeless at a time when mercury touches 40oC in the mid day. Some of the well off households with access to funds and alternative places to stay (in other cities) moved immediately. Those remaining in flood- affected areas moved to camps and spontaneous settlements on roads, and bunds nearby villages. Families with livestock faced logistic problems and went through series of problems. 5 Post Flood Rapid Assessment Report, HANDS PRIORITIES INTERVENTIONS Restoration of minor but critical infrastructure such as link roads, irrigation channels, culverts, land and veterinary services is essential for social and economic recovery. For achieving better health water, sanitation and hygiene interventions are necessary. Provision of seeds, tools and fertilizers for the upcoming wheat season; and to restore critical infrastructure linked with livelihoods such as irrigation systems, farm to market roads, agro-processing facilities and veterinary stations. 1. Cash for work Facilitation of incomes is essential to enable people to rehabilitate their villages, starting campaigns for removing debris, mud and restoring social services including culverts, small bridges, water and sanitation, health and education services. 2. Shelter Men will not leave wives and family in tented villages or camps and will take spontaneous actions to start to rehabilitation. Initial they will have in need of basic tools and equipments to restore basic privacy and security of their families. 3. Livestock Livestock play a particularly important role in affected areas and contributing to nutrition through the provision of milk and meat, income through sales of milk and meat, transportation, animal traction and energy sources for ploughing, and fertiliser/manure for soil fertility. Livestock also represent a readily convertible asset for times of planned or exceptional need. 4. Cultivation Agriculture and most especially wheat play a crucial role in the household food economy. Wheat seeds are normally stored from the season before. As the flood disrupted harvest processes, and destroyed harvested rice and some of the areas will remain under water for next 3 months and will not be able to cultivate any crop thus will force people top buy food for next season on credit or will take loans from non formal institutes at higher interest rates. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF FINDINGS Incomes Agriculture including livestock rearing was the primary source of employment in rural areas of Sindh. In the affected districts of Sindh, agriculture accounted for 70 percent of total rural employment. Off farm incomes constitute approximately 30% of incomes. Particularly in Dadu, men migrate to cities for casual labour and low level jobs. The remittances they send home constitute a vital part of the household income. Most service sector work is in the informal sector, without a social safety. Such jobs seldom provide opportunities for savings and only afford sufficient income for subsistence. The loss of employment and livelihoods, even for a short period of time, is likely to precipitate a fall into extreme poverty.1 Flash floods resulted in a large number of deaths to livestock. In more settled farming systems, buffalo, cattle, small livestock and poultry are often kept in locally-constructed housing or underneath human dwellings; many died as farmers had little time to take them out with them and all structures submerged and livestock killed underneath. Mortality to livestock was as high as 100 per cent in some of the worst affected areas. In the affected areas of Jacobabad, Kashmore and Dadu, agricultural structures were severely damaged, 1 2005 United Nations System in Pakistan and Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. 6 Post Flood Rapid Assessment Report, HANDS including 80 per cent of land, 50 per cent of irrigation diversions, 50 per cent of water channels/canals, 50 per cent of water lifting devices and 100 per cent of water ways Incomes By Agro-Ecological Zone Livelihoods in the agricultural sector in Sindh vary greatly according to its proximity to water canals. Damage to livelihoods and incomes thus varies across different agro ecological zones. The loss of a buffalo or cow for subsistence farmers living far from water canals or without canal water such as Dadu and Thatta which amounts to a massive loss in terms of draught power and agricultural productivity. It is extremely costly for

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