Northland-based Pakistani makes flood relief appeal

Naila Aslam is appealing for monetary assistance to help millions of fellow Pakistanis affected by floodwaters. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Northland-based Pakistanis are appealing to the public for monetary assistance to help tens of millions of their compatriots affected by the worst flooding in a decade.

According to Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, the floods have affected more than 33 million people and destroyed or damaged more than 1 million houses.

At least 1100 people were killed by floodwaters that inundated tens of thousands of square kilometres of the country.

The worst flooding occurred along the Indus River in the provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Sindh.

Displaced people wade through a flooded area in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Photo / Getty Images

The provinces of Balochistan and Sindh have so far this year received five to six times their 30-year average rainfall. Most of that arrived in summer monsoon rains.

Whangārei mother of two Naila Aslam hails from Tank, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where two to three villages have been completely wiped out.

"People are really poor, they rely on income from crop and livestock farming, as well as small shops. All source of income is gone and many are living in tents.

"Food, medicine and toiletries is the biggest issue at the moment. Then there are would-be mums who need medical care but hospitals are inundated. There's fear of diseases spreading with widespread flooding.

"I'd urge people who wish to donate money to give it to those directly affected or to the Pakistan Association of New Zealand which has launched a flood appeal," she said.

Aslam's relatives in Tank are not adversely affected but they are helping those in neighbouring areas that have lost their livelihood.

She said badly-damaged infrastructure was hampering efforts to get food to those severely affected, particularly people who lived in mud houses that were completely destroyed.

The account number for the flood appeal is 03-0118-0133861-01 (Reference: flood-2022).

Across Pakistan, about 150 bridges and 3500km of roads have reportedly been destroyed. More than 700,000 livestock and 810,000ha of crops and orchards have
also been lost.