SINDH/ BALOCHISTAN CYCLONE YEMYIN RESPONSE-Turbat Interim Assessment Report II Of The Effects of the Cyclone Yemyin In Kech District Balochistan Province Team Members: Dennis Joseph – CWS P/A Bernard Kidula - NCA Syed Shaukat Ullah Shah Abdul Baari Kurd Imran Munawar 1 Ellahi Bukhsh Baloch – SPO (Strengthening Participatory Organization) SINDH/ BALOCHISTAN CYCLONE YEMYIN RESPONSE-Turbat AREA ASSESSED: Province: Balochistan District: Turbat Background Following media, NGO and other reports reaching the CWS-P/A on the dire effects of the Cyclone Yemyin in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, it was decided to send an assessment team to the affected areas for a first hand account of the damage if any. A team comprising of CWS (Church World Service, NCA (Norwegian Church Aid) and SPO (Strengthening Participatory Organization) was dispatched to Balochistan on the 6th of July 2007. The team’s objectives were: • Assess the extent of the destruction to people and livelihoods • Assess the damage to the water and sanitation infrastructure • Assess the damage to the health facilities in the affected areas • Make recommendations for the appropriate response to mitigate the effects of the disaster (if any) Basic Facts: Turbat district was promulgated on the 1st of July 1977. It assumed the name Kech between 1994 and 95. The district headquarters are located at Turbat town which is situated on the left bank of Kech River. The district comprises of four Tehsils which are Turbat, Buleda, Dasht and Tump. There are 38 Union Councils (UCs) in the district in Kech. The population structure in the UCs is as follows: Population Tehsil UC Male Female Total Turbat 17 113 975 100975 214 521 Buleda 7 36928 36179 73107 Tump 8 45371 41144 86515 Dasht 6 20292 18769 39061 A low key insurgency has plagued the province for quite some time and may be the main reason entry and movement for foreigners is tightly restricted or monitored. The team’s non- Pakistan member had to apply be granted a No Objections Certificate (NOC), to enter the province. 2 SINDH/ BALOCHISTAN CYCLONE YEMYIN RESPONSE-Turbat Methodology The team employed 1. Interviews; 2. Focus group discussions 3. Observation 4. Review of secondary data As in previous reports attempts have been made to verify the figures, names and statistics handed down by informants in the field. This is both time consuming and a Herculean task. As a result, the team has only quoted or employed figures and numbers which have either been verified or present no controversy. The names used have been quoted from informants or as written down on sign posts. KECH General: Presidential Visit: The team’s visit coincided with the visit to the area by the President of the country – Parvez Musharaf. This had some effect on the mission. Security for the president was obviously very tight and many roads were closed. Indeed, the team was transported from the airport on the back of a police anti-riot truck and offloaded outside the perimeter fence under the baking hot sun. There were restrictions on the places the team could visit and that included the disaster zones that the president intended to visit. That curtailed the team’s activities on the first day. The newly operated tent camp located in the stadium was certainly out of bounds for the team as the President intended to visit it. First Impressions: All the low lying areas of Turbat are hard hit. Unfortunately Turbat being in Balochistan – the least developed of Pakistan’s provinces – has some of the poorest citizens living in abject poverty. Even before the disaster, the people were lacking the most essential services and infrastructure. Their houses were largely constructed of mud – no match for the water escaping the dams. In some areas, the flood water level went as high eight meters and stayed so for some days, wiping out everything under it. Weakly constructed permanent structures collapsed as well. 3 SINDH/ BALOCHISTAN CYCLONE YEMYIN RESPONSE-Turbat Unlike Thatta where most damage was wrought by the wind, the damage in Turbat district was mostly by water. The Surab Dam allegedly burst releasing water that destroyed everything in its path. It was the same story in Nasirabad where the Mirani Dam unleashed its water on the settlements below it. When the team posed the question “What destroyed your homes?” the unequivocal answer was “Water from the dams”. The destruction in these places is comprehensive. In addition to human settlements, the waters destroyed roads, water systems, electricity, public buildings and indeed structures in its path. While the water has receded leaving behind large ponds and patches of water, it has left behind its mark – virtually all water sources have been contaminated. The destruction is comprehensive and almost neat. Health: The pre-disaster health delivery system seems to have been feeble and inadequate long before the disaster. what ever the Government health infrastructure was in place at the time, had sustained massive damage during these floods. Although there are claims by the armed forces and the health department that they have provided medical assistance to the affected communities nevertheless, the three Union Councils (UCs) the team visited, depicted a different picture altogether. The team witnessed a severe lack of health services including health personnel, medicine and medical supplies, medical equipment and an extremely unhygienic environment. The services that were available were not only inadequate but highly inefficient. The team saw no effort made to address the health needs and concerns of the women and children. In about 85% of the health units visited, there was no female staff on board thus rendering more then 50% of population without health care services. Access to the Secondary and Tertiary Health Care Service for the patient seemed extremely difficult and on top of it, there are no ambulances available at any of the health facilities visited. The team was later informed by the EDO Health that there is only one ambulance available for the whole district. A serious effort is needed to reach out to these communities in order to provide them with a reasonable level of health cover. The team saw one camp near the airport hurriedly put up by the military. It was widely criticized by the people the team met in the field and in the media as a whitewash. This camp was only established a few days back to facilitate the visit of President of Pakistan. The team visited the camp after the president made his speech and left the people were still there and the camps were neatly set as if no one is living in them. 4 SINDH/ BALOCHISTAN CYCLONE YEMYIN RESPONSE-Turbat Health Structure of District Kech: Sr No: Type of Health Facilities Number of Health facilities 1 Civil Dispensaries (CD) 39 Rural Health Centers (RHC) 06 3 Basic Health Units (BHU) 25 4 DHQ Hospital 01 5 MCH Center 04 6 Leprosy Hospital 01 7 T.B Clinic (DHQ Hospital Turbat) 01 Problems Identified: Almost all the water sources tested, are not suitable for human consumption, however the people of Kohs Kalat, Gokdan and Nasirabad are consuming the same resulting in increased water borne diseases. Other major ailments reported are Diarrhea, Dysentery, ARI (Acute Respiratory Track Infection); Malaria is endemic (including plasmodium Falciparum), Skin diseases and a few cases of snake bite. There is one reported death caused by snake bite. The vaccination for Cholera and Typhoid has not been carried out whereas the threat of outbreak of Cholera/Typhoid is there. Due to food shortage and safe drinking water, the nutritional status of the affected population is compromised specially women and children. The government set up of RHC, BHUs and CDs have sustained substantial damage in terms of damage to the structure. The three Room Danuk CD sustained heavy damage, the pavement is all gone, there is no incinerator and the environmental hygiene is extremely poor. The same is with Nasirabad RHC which is occupied with the survivors and only one room is allocated for the health activities. Again, no female medical officer or Lady Health Visitor is there. There is no source of safe water. 5 SINDH/ BALOCHISTAN CYCLONE YEMYIN RESPONSE-Turbat There seems to be a serious human resource problem. Among all the centers visited only one female staff (an untrained LHV) was found at Behman CD of UC Gokdan. An acute shortage of essential medicine has been reported by all health personnel that the team met. In Danuk CD, Dr. Fida Hussain who is also responsible of Bahman CD informed the team that they do get medicine from UNICEF, EDO-Health for three months but the medicine lasts for less then one and a half. The team saw one antibiotic (Co-Trimoxazole) in Danuk CD. The biggest problem is that there is no coordinated effort to streamline the services in order to avoid duplication or to fill the major gaps. The military seems to be at the helm of affairs. The team was informed by Major General Salim Nawaz, Inspector General Frontier Corps (IGFC) that the army is planning to establish 100 camps in Kech district. Each camp will house 50 families with the ratio of 10 members per family. We have no clue when this hypothesis will materialize. Shelter: The team saw virtually no house standing. Over 90% of the private houses had been washed away in Kohs Kalat areas of Raeesani Masjid, Malaki Bagh and BHU Kohs Kalat. None of the mud houses in low lying areas and in the path way of the flood waters remain standing. So thorough is the destruction that the team saw no human beings in some of affected areas. To find people, the team went to the high areas where it discovered a number of “camps” that have spontaneously sprung up.