UstaadKhan Blogs

Flood victims returning to their homes in Basera, Punjab, as the waters recede

Up to a million people have fled their homes in the past two days, as floods, never seen on such a scale, continue to sweep south.

A month after devastating floods first brought havoc to Pakistan, thousands of people were still fleeing surging water yesterday as the Indus broke its banks close to a historic city in the country’s south.

  Officials said water had breached the river’s defences close to Thatta and had also flooded a second canal that feeds from the Indus. Yesterday evening, officials estimated that the 20ft breach in the levee, which happened early in the morning, could cause flooding in the outskirts of the city by nightfall.

 Most of the 200,000-strong population of Thatta, 75 miles south-east of Karachi, have already left the city, camping out by the sides of roads or trying to move to cities out of the flood zone. Hundreds of families were taking shelter in an ancient Muslim graveyard and in a nearby Hindu temple.

Up to a million people have been forced to flee their homes in the past 48 hours. With so many needing help and so little relief reaching the southern parts of Sindh province, scores of people blocked a road in Thatta to demand more assistance. They complained that the scant supplies available were usually thrown from the backs of trucks, resulting in crowds of people fighting among themselves for food and water.

 ”The people who come here to give us food treat us like beggars,” an 80-year-old woman called Karima (who has just one name) told Associated Press. “They just throw the food. It is humiliating.” (more…)

Flood survivors in Pakistan are not only facing the threat of serious illness with a lack of doctors and medication, but food shortages as well, as the water has also washed away crops and submerged hundreds of thousands of hectares of fertile farm land.

The United Nations has so far received less than half of the $459 million in immediate aid funding it appealed for last week. Another $43 million has been promised. On Tuesday the World Bank announced it would redirect $900 million of its existing loans to Pakistan to assist in the flood recovery effort.

Canada has pledged up to $33 million.

Meanwhile, thousands of people await medical assistance, emergency shelter and food supplies and anger continues to grow over the government’s perceived sluggish response to the crisis. Aid agencies and the British government have complained the international community hasn’t stepped up to provide the money needed to help those in desperate need of basic life-saving necessities, including clean drinking water, food, emergency shelter and medicine.

The torrential downpours and the subsequent flooding has so far killed approximately 1,600 people and left as many as 20 million people in need of immediate assistance. The nation’s northwestern Sway Valley region has been hit particularly hard, where water has washed away entire villages and destroyed bridges and other key infrastructure, including hospitals and schools. Large swaths of the Punjab and Sindh provinces are also submerged.

Authorities warned Tuesday that the Indus River could burst its banks again.

Water-borne illness poses a great threat and the UN said cases of diarrhea are rising, increasing the risk of malnutrition.

Looting and protests over food shortages have also been reported in Punjab. The water washed away approximately 700,000 hectares of wheat, sugar cane and rice crops. Fruit crops have also been destroyed. Food prices have spiked since the flooding began more than three weeks ago.

The Canadian Red Cross is asking for funding to help flood victims in Pakistan.

It is estimated that six million people are in need of immediate assistance, including food, medicine, nutrition and clean drinking water, with a high epidemic risk.

Pregnant women, children and the elderly are most vulnerable.

Jan Brunschot, the Chatham branch’s community service co-ordinator for disaster management, said that some local donations have been coming in.

“We’re having trouble really pinpointing the extent of the damage, because we can’t get to some of the people,” she said on Friday.

On Monday, the Red Cross deployed a new field clinic. These clinics provide immediate curative, preventive and community health care.

Those wishing to donate may give online, call 1-800- 418-1111, or contact the local Canadian Red Cross office at 519-352-2510.

Cheques should be made payable to the Canadian Red Cross, earmarked “Pakistan Floods 2010″ and mailed to the Canadian Red Cross National Office, 170 Metcalfe Street, Suite 300, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2P2.

Donate $5 by texting REDCROSS to 30333. A onetime donation of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider.

Aslamu alaikum

I would like to wish everyone a blessed Ramadan. As we enter this month, we are encouraged to keep the sufferings of the destitute and starved in mind. Since a good act is appreciated greatly by Allah, it is encouraged to give one’s Zakat in this month.

As I write this email, there has been a severe devastation in Pakistan. Due to the raging water of the floods many people have lost their lives, houses and livestock. The loss of the seasons’ crops is spelling the impending doom of a fast approaching famine. There have been cases of people who stood on the roofs of their houses and were drowned to death along with their small children and wives.

I have been able to find a very reliable person (Haroon Agha) in Pakistan to distribute this year’s Zakat. I would wish that everyone who gets this message pool something in by Ramadan 15^th so that the money can arrive promptly to those who deserve it. You are encouraged to give Zakat and Sadaqah. The money however will only be given to people who deserve Zakat with a preference to those who have been hard hit by the floods.

Please reply to this email or see me in person to contribute to this cause.

Hassan Mian.

Assalamoalikum,

I am writing this email with great sorrow and anguish in my heart.
There seems to be no end to the floods, bringing misery, death and
destruction to millions in Pakistan. It has become extremely difficult
to see  women, children, men struggling to keep alive, and the worse
thing is that there seems to be no end in sight.

For some time now, I had my suspicions that Pakistan was/is under a
great calamity from Allah SWT. There has been one calamity after
another, and the earth has been shaking nearly every week (if not
every day ) in Pakistan.

My suspicions were confirmed when I came to know that Mufti Taqi
Usmaani also told a congregation to recite Surah Shams (Surah 91)
excessively to avoid azaab from Allah (SWT). Maulana sahib in his
bayan (24th May 2009), said that one of his respected elders saw
Prophet(SAW) in his dream. Prophet(SAW) told him that Pakistan may
soon be  under azaab from Allah(SWT), and in order to avoid the azaab,
the people of Pakistan should recite Surah Shams 70,000 times.

I have found the bayan. It can be found here
http://www.deeneislam.com/ur/horiz/sotiyat/mufti_taqi_usmani/288_M_M_TAQI_ZIKR_E_KASEER_HAR_JA_AUR_HAR_WAQT_HO_24_05_2009.wma.
He talks about the dream at around 34 mins into the bayan. In his next
speech, he presents the tafseer of Surah Shams. It can be found here
http://www.deeneislam.com/ur/horiz/sotiyat/mufti_taqi_usmani/Tafseer-Surah-Shams-(27-05-2009).wma

Tomorrow is the start of Ramadam, indeed a  blessed month specially to
seek Allah Karim’s mercy. I request that we recite Surah Shams
excessively and include it in our daily supplications.
The condition is Pakistan is very dire.

For those who are not familier with Mufti Taqi Usmaani, he is a
leading fiqh scholar, son of Mufti Shafi Usmaani, and is the current
head of Dar-ul-Uloom Karachi. Among other things, he is also
considered a world authority on Islamic finance. I have personally
benefited from his lectures immensely and recommend him highly.

Assalamoalikum, and as always remember me in your duaas.
Abdul Hannan Ahsan.