Our club has been a supporter of ShelterBox for many years. You can learn more and donate by visiting ShelterBoxCanada.org. ShelterBox provides emergency shelter and other essential items to families who have lost their homes to disasters or conflict. Please see the update below regarding Pakistan:
Global disaster relief organization ShelterBox Canada announced today it is deploying an emergency team to Pakistan to respond to devastating flooding and determine what aid it will provide.
- ShelterBox is deploying an Emergency Response Team to Pakistan
- 33 million people affected by devastating floods in Pakistan – 15% of the population. More than 1 million are displaced from their homes.
- Flash floods have ripped through large parts of the country, taking people’s homes and livelihoods
- The organization’s largest response to flooding was in Pakistan in 2010
- ShelterBox has responded to at least 75 flood disasters
ShelterBox, which provides emergency shelter and other essential items following disasters and during prolonged conflicts, will also launch an emergency fundraising appeal.
“The climate related monsoon flooding in Pakistan is devastating. Humanitarian needs continue to grow, and we don’t yet have a full picture of the situation” said ShelterBox Canada Executive Director, Stephanie Christensen. “ShelterBox specializes in providing emergency shelter and vital supplies after disaster, our Response Team will work to rapidly determine the most appropriate aid and get it to those who need it the most.”
More than 33 million people across Pakistan have been affected by the flooding, and more than 1,100 people have died as homes have been sunk or been swept away.
The ShelterBox team aims to be on the ground in Pakistan this week to work with local partners and assess shelter and other humanitarian needs. The team will focus on the hardest hit areas first, including Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Balochistan.
ShelterBox has aid items prepositioned in the region.
“The flood waters are fast and lethal, and they do not discriminate. They are sweeping away anything in their path including people, homes, and livelihoods,” said Haroon Altaf, ShelterBox Regional Director for Asia. “When there is so little dry land, and entire communities cut off, the logistics of getting shelter aid to the people in greatest need presents a complicated challenge.”
Roughly a third of the country is underwater. Of Pakistan’s 160 districts, 116 have been affected by the flooding. Sixty-six have official declared a “calamity” as waterways that feed the Indus River have burst through their banks. Nearly half a million people have crowded into relief camps after losing their homes.
More monsoon storms are forecasted later this month.
ShelterBox has responded to flooding in Pakistan previously, including a 2010 response that served thousands. It also has significant experience responding to flood disasters, deploying aid to at least 75 since it was founded in 2000.
For more information, please visit ShelterBoxCanada.org
