In the remote village of Allah Bachayo Phanwar in southern Pakistan, Mithal Chandio was combing through the debris looking for intact bricks so he could begin rebuilding his house, which was flattened by last month’s devastating floods that submerged one-third of the country.
His belongings included damp blankets, a pedestal fan, a few bags and trunks full of clothes, and some crockery. When floods hit his village last month, he could only grab that much. Located on the outskirts of Dadu district in Sindh province, one of the worst affected regions, the village — like nearly all others in the area — was completely inundated by the floods, which forced around 500 residents to take refuge on a nearby road.
The raging water levels have since receded, leaving behind clear signs of massive destruction with nothing left intact. The village is still surrounded by 4- to 5-foot deep water, giving it an island look. Swarms of mosquitoes and houseflies continuously swirl around. Boats are the only way to reach the ruined village, bring food, or transport the sick to the hospital. “Only men from 10 to 12 families have returned so far during the past week to assess the damage and prospects of repairing the houses, which are currently uninhabited,” Mithal Chandio, a local farmer, told Anadolu Agency. The women and children will join when at least one room of each house is made livable, according to Chandio, who has five children. “Nothing is left intact here. It seems that we have to start from zero,” he said, pointing towards the razed walls and cracked wooden doors of his small house. Another resident, Ghulam Omer, said the village was also hit by flooding in 2010, but the scale of the devastation was far less. “This time, triple the amount of water came and left nothing behind except devastation and helplessness. “We are facing a dual challenge. First, we have to have money for reconstruction of our houses, and secondly arrange livelihoods as the massive rains and floods have already wiped out our crops,” Omer added. His cropland is still under water, with no chance of receding in the coming weeks if not months.
Unsure about future: Munir Leghari lost his house in the 2010 floods, which took him the next eight years to rebuild. But he and his family were only able to live in the new house for four years as the recent floods once again deprived them of a dwelling place. “I had worked so hard to rebuild my house and pay off the loans. But I have lost it again,” Leghari told Anadolu Agency. He was loading luggage on a canoe at Chandan Mori, also known as Zero Point, located around 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from Dadu city, to return to his village after over a month.
