Windsor resident Nafees Haider said his brother’s home was among thousands of people who have been destroyed by unprecedented flooding in Pakistan’s hardest-hit province. Although he speaks to his brother every day on the phone, Haider says he still worries about his family.
In recent months, record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in the northern mountains have triggered floods that have submerged a third of Pakistan. On Friday, at least 1,208 people, including 416 children, were killed, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Pakistan received almost 190% more rain than the 30-year average in the quarter to August this year, totaling 390.7 millimetres. Sindh, with a population of 50 million, was the hardest hit, receiving 466% more rain than the 30-year average.
Haider told CBC News that his brother’s house is located in Matli, Sindh.
“I feel very bad and I am very upset because my hometown, my beautiful city is now destroyed,” Haider said, adding that it will take many years to rebuild.
“[My brother] said after the rain, thousands of people are sick there now, they have too many different diseases there,” he said, adding that the country needed more medicine.
Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, health minister of the country’s worst-hit Sindh province, said officials had set up 4,210 medical camps in flood-affected areas of the province to treat victims currently suffering. skin and waterborne diseases, which are common during floods.
“Do not lose hope”
Resident Javaid Ahmad just returned to Windsor in July after living in his home town of Taunsa, Punjab for six years.
He says a friend told him that the cemetery where his grandparents, father and uncle are buried was flooded with 1.2 to 1.5 meters of water. The flood, he says, washed away his uncle’s grave.
“I feel helpless here,” Ahmad said.
WATCH: Ahmad shares his message of hope
Ahmad says his immediate family has not been directly affected by the floods, but he knows friends who are struggling.
“I hope I [could] to be there just to help the people there because it’s my city. The people who live there, I know them very well, but I’m not there to help them.”
Although his family was not further affected, Ahmad said he knew friends who were in a more serious situation. His message to them is not to lose hope.
“If you lose hope, then you’re gone,” he said. “Don’t lose hope and you will recover soon.”
The Islamic Association of Windsor is raising money for flood victims and raised $20,000 of its $100,000 goal within days of collecting donations.
The association’s media director, Zaid Khan, said the community had come together to offer their support.
“We really do our best to watch out for our siblings whether they need it or just a hug after a long day,” he said, adding that he encouraged people to watch their loved ones during this time.
The community asks for more support from the Canadian government
Rubab Raza, who lives in south Windsor, said his family was unaffected by the flooding but was stepping up to help people in nearby communities submerged by rainwater.
Raza said her cousin helped people who had lost their homes take refuge in a nearby mosque and cooked for them.
“Their homes just vanished, in the blink of an eye [an] eye, it’s just gone,” she said.
“I feel so helpless and emotional at the same time…and at the same time I feel so proud that my family is helping other people in need.”
To help, Raza said she was sending money to her cousin.
She said she wanted to see the Canadian government provide more support and partner with more nonprofits on the ground to provide basic necessities like food and shelter.
Last week, the Canadian government committed $5 million in humanitarian aid for the most affected regions of the country.
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