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Add to Preferred SourcesThe first of this year’s monsoon rains arrived in Pakistan earlier this month, bringing with them destruction and devastation. Eighty-six people were killed and 151 more injured in the 4-9 July rains, according to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Ninety-six houses sustained damage and 46 livestock died.
Lahore experienced extremely heavy rainfall, leading to flooding in the city, while flood warnings were also issued to communities living near the Sutlaj, Ravi, Chenab, and Jhelum rivers.
A second spell of monsoon rains has fallen, causing the Chenab River to flood. The flooding has led to extensive damage to the 50 villages nearby, with crops destroyed and communities cut off. The Government of Pakistan has begun evacuations and rescue operations and has established flood relief camps in affected areas.
Islamic Relief is working closely with the government and relevant stakeholders to assess developments as the monsoon season continues.
Historic flooding
The arrival of the monsoon rains comes as Pakistan prepares to mark the 1-year anniversary of historic flooding next month. The 2022 floods were the worst in living memory, submerging one-third of the country and affecting more than 33 million people.
More than 1,700 people lost their lives and over 890,000 homes were destroyed, with a further 1.4 million sustaining damage. From the very early stages of Islamic Relief’s response, it was clear that targeted long-term support would be needed to help those affected to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.
IRW reached more than 1.4 million people with aid and, by the end of 2022, had raised over £10 million in funds to support our efforts on the ground.
In partnership with UNICEF, the organization provided clean water to over half a million people, while a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is set to help us rebuild shattered livelihoods in the coming months.
Islamic Relief has provided almost 7,000 tents and runs more than 6,600 health and hygiene sessions advising people on how to keep safe and clean despite challenges in accessing water and sanitation services. Islamic Relief also installed over 1,631 water tanks and supplied more than 2,500 multipurpose cash grants to enable affected people to buy what they truly need.