Santa Barbara–based charity ShelterBox is responding in Pakistan, where floodwaters are sweeping away entire mountain villages in the midst of heavy rains bombarding the region. This monsoon season has been particularly intense and characterized by cloudbursts, or periods of rain that dump more than four inches in only a matter of hours.
“The intensity and speed of the monsoon rains caught people off guard — destroying homes and sweeping away entire villages. People are in urgent need of support,” said Haroon Altaf, ShelterBox Regional Director of Asia & MENA (Middle East and North Africa.)
On Thursday, three major rivers in Punjab burst their banks because of the release of water from overflowing dams in neighboring India. Families were stranded and crops and businesses were destroyed. Nearly 250,000 people were displaced, and more than one million people were affected, officials reported. An estimated 15 people were killed the day prior, adding to a death toll of at least 800 since late June. More rain was forecasted for the weekend as floodwaters started moving south.
Families urgently need emergency shelter, which the organization is preparing to provide alongside other essential items that are “readily available” in their storage depots in Pakistan and Dubai, “allowing us to respond quickly, given how vulnerable the country is to extreme weather and other disasters,” ShelterBox said in a statement.
The group is supplying shelter repair kits with tarpaulins and rope so people can make temporary repairs to damaged homes. Other items include water filters and carriers, blankets, mattresses, mats, and mosquito nets, as standing water from floods creates a breeding ground for insects.
In a video update shared on Friday, ShelterBox emergency coordinator Jonty Ellaby describes the scenes as “horrific,” with many people left without a place to sleep. He said the team is looking to provide people with family-sized tents that can sleep 7 to 8 people in the coming days. They are working closely with their partner organization, Islamic Relief Pakistan, to reach the hardest-hit areas while also looking at how best to support people in the east of the country, he added.
ShelterBox has responded to major flooding in the region before, as recently as 2022. “As we’re seeing in places like Pakistan, these situations are only getting worse and more regular,” Ellaby said.
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