International Rescue Committee (IRC)

After the flood

Photos: 
The people of Shah Wasaye returned to their village in late February. More than six months after the floods, the community is still in ruins.<br /><br /><em>Photo: Peter Biro/IRC</em><br /><br />
A resident of the village clears debris from the spot where his house once stood. Flooding destroyed an estimated 1.7 million homes throughout Pakistan.<br /><br /><em>Photo: Peter Biro/IRC</em><br /><br />
The IRC's Dr. Abdul Jalil examines patients in the village of Shah Wasaye. Most communities were poor even before the floods struck. Now they are suffering from an upsurge in disease brought on by food shortages, contaminated water and poor hygiene.<br /><br /><em>Photo: Peter Biro/IRC</em><br /><br />
Parveen Abro, an IRC nurse, treats a girl from Shah Wasaye. The IRC operates two mobile health teams in Sindh Province that provide services to some 50,000 people.<br /><br /><em>Photo: Peter Biro/IRC</em><br /><br />
Some 170,000 flood victims remain in camps for displaced people, according to the United Nations. The number of homeless people is much higher, including those living in tents beside wrecked homes, like this family near Shah Wasaye.<br /><br /><em>Photo: Peter Biro/IRC</em><br /><br />
This family built a makeshift structure outside Shah Wasaye. The village's farm land and livestock were destroyed by the flooding.<br /><br /><em>Photo: Peter Biro/IRC</em><br /><br />
The IRC has launched a far-reaching project that will rebuild vital infrastructure in hard-hit Sindh Province and help over 150,000 people.<br /><br /><em>Photo: Peter Biro/IRC</em><br /><br />
Food shortages are acute in some areas of Sindh Province. The IRC's new aid project will rehabilitate agricultural land and distribute seeds, fertilizers, poultry and livestock.<br /><br /><em>Photo: Peter Biro/IRC</em><br /><br />
The IRC supplies drugs and equipment to rural health clinics such as this one in the village of Mianjogoth.<br /><br /><em>Photo: Peter Biro/IRC</em><br /><br />
The IRC has installed water tanks, hand pumps and latrines across Sindh Province. In the village of Aitbar Brohi, a girl pumps drinking water from a well.<br /><br /><em>Photo: Peter Biro/IRC</em><br /><br />
A boy enjoys a clean shower in the village of Aitbar Brohi.<br /><br /><em>Photo: Peter Biro/IRC</em><br /><br />
Cases of diarrhea and scabies have dropped dramatically since the IRC installed a fresh water supply, according to Mohammed Alem, who lives in a tent in Aitbar Brohi.<br /><br /><em>Photo: Peter Biro/IRC</em><br /><br />
Much of Pakistan's flood zone is in the same desperate shape as it was six months ago. Although the international aid effort has helped millions of people it is still struggling to catch up to the immense human need.<br /><br /><em>Photo: Peter Biro/IRC</em><br /><br />
Photo: Peter Biro/IRC

More than six months on, the humanitarian crisis brought about by the worst flooding in Pakistan’s history is far from over.   The IRC is providing clean water and health care, and helping hard hit communities to rebuild vital infrastructure and kick start their local economies.