The devastation brought about by the monsoon floods has left millions displaced without food, clean drinking water, and shelter in Pakistan. After the massive destruction in several areas of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the floods inundated major districts of the Sindh province. More than 14 million people in the province have been affected by the disaster and 511 have lost their lives.

Abdul Rasheed, a resident of the Thatta district says that ‘the water seeped in the houses at night when the people were still sleeping.’ Families in Sindh have lost their homes and livelihoods. Villages that were at a lower level than the road are submerged under 10 feet of water and boats are the only means of transport now.

Floods are not unusual for the people of Sindh but this year has been different. The water has ravaged nearly 1.5 million houses in Sindh alone. Women and children are spending days out in the open and suffering with diseases and difficulties associated with stagnant water.

Ambhaari; a widowed mother of 3 from Mirpur Khas says; “We lost our house in the devastating flood and we had to spend 7 days under the open sky in immense distress. The abundance of mosquitos made it difficult for my children to live in the open.” Children and the elderly are now suffering from waterborne diseases but deprivation has forced them to drink from these open sources of water.

Several villages in Dadu and Larkana districts are fully submerged and thousands of adobe houses have been destroyed. For miles, the only thing that is visible is water and tree tops. 219 of the 511 people who lost their lives were children who drowned in front of their parents. People living in rural settlements rely on their livestock to make a living and floods have taken away all that people had. 2.85 million acres of land are waterlogged and the water will take time to recede for any rebuilding to take place. The only thing these communities are relying on is help from aid agencies or from the public sector.

Islamic Relief is striving around the clock to provide these flood-affected communities with the basic necessities and lifesaving aid. The floods have already affected over 33 million individuals and news of a new monsoon spell has made these people anxious for their lives. Islamic Relief has reached about 35,000 individuals in rural areas where few organizations have reached, till now.