Integrators are increasing their relief efforts in Pakistan due to the devastating floods in thecountry that affected up to 20 million people and left six million people in need of emergency food
assistance while floods continue spreading across the country.The DHL Disaster Response Team (DRT) that has been on site at Islamabad Airport since August 26will remain in Pakistan for an additional two weeks. Following a request by the National DisasterManagement Authority (NDMA) in Pakistan, the United Nations has recommended to extend the DRTdeployment. In the wake of a continuing difficult situation caused by nationwide flooding, Pakistanis still dependent on international assistance and efficient logistics support at the airport inIslamabad.
With the extended deployment period, the DRT will spend a total of five weeks on site. Itsmembers will continue to ensure fast, efficient unloading of incoming relief goods at the airportin Islamabad as well as the clear sorting of these supplies and palletising for furtherdistribution, DHL said in a statement.
Deutsche Post DHL’s CEO Frank Appel commented on the extension: “To date, our employees havehandled 2,632 tons of relief supplies and assembled 2,500 special emergency packs for remote areas.Due to the nature of the disaster, the situation in Pakistan is improving only slowly which is whywe decided to keep our Disaster Response Team on the ground.”
Since August 26, the DHL employees have unloaded relief supplies like food, water, tents,tarpaulins, cloth and hygienic articles and prepared them for further transport into the country.In the first three weeks, the on-site team was staffed by 20 volunteers who rotated out on a weeklybasis. Over the course of the next two weeks, some 8-10 new colleagues from the DHL DRT pool of 200volunteers will be sent to strengthen the relief efforts. The DRT’s work is based on an agreementwith the Pakistani NDMA and a long-standing partnership with the United Nations Office for theCoordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Meanwhile, logistics leaders TNT, UPS and Agility are providing vital warehousing, transport andlogistics support in the current Pakistan emergency to ensure critical relief supplies reach thepeople affected by the disastrous rains and flooding. The three companies comprise the LogisticsEmergency Teams (LETs) unit, a cross-company partnership to support humanitarian relief effortsduring natural disasters.
So far, the LETs have provided warehousing facilities totalling 8,000 sqm in Multan, Peshawarand Islamabad, along with support staff in several locations as well as light trucks fortransporting relief material between airports, helipads and consolidation warehouses. In addition,TNT and Agility have supplied refrigerated containers for storage of temperature sensitive cargosuch as medicines.
“It is essential that the LETs team is again stepping in to help the Pakistani people byoffering local resources and expertise in conjunction with our partners,” said Peter Bakker, CEO ofTNT.
“Given the complexity and urgency of the efforts required in times of disaster, critical linksare needed in the supply chain between donors, relief agencies and communities in need,” added DanBrutto, president of UPS International. “As well as providing financial and transport support, UPShas worked with WFP to provide critical logistics, through LETs staff and facilities, to help themost vulnerable.”
The LETs are working closely with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), which is alsothe lead of the Logistics Cluster coordinating the logistical response of the humanitariancommunity at times of disaster.
“The heavy rains and flooding in Pakistan have left millions stranded with no access to food andbasic necessities. In the first month, WFP reached three million people with lifesaving foodsupplies, and in September is seeking to reach double that number,” said Martin Ohlsen, WFPlogistics director. “The LETs are an important component in our overall response strategy and theirgenerous contribution of logistics assets and personnel has significantly boosted the speed andeffectiveness of our response,” he added.
The United Nations said it is seeking a further $500 million or more for relief aid in Pakistan.“It will be substantially more than the original appeal,” said Under-Secretary-General forHumanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos. A month ago, the UN and itshumanitarian partners sought nearly $460 million in a first response to what she called “an immenseand still unfolding crisis”.
“The world’s attention is waning at a time when some of the biggest challenges for the reliefeffort here are still to come,” Amos claimed. “In some parts of Pakistan, a new disaster ishappening every few days and millions of people are still waiting for the support they need tosurvive. Elsewhere, particularly in the north, people affected when the floods started in late Julyare now looking to us for help to get back on their feet. Making sure the relief effort tacklesboth is going to be a huge test of our ability to coordinate and work effectively over the comingweeks and months.”
Over 1.8 million houses are reported as either damaged or destroyed. In Sindh alone, nearlyseven million people have been affected, of whom 1.3 million people are now in government reliefcamps, the UN reported.
