ill-torrent floods in southern Punjab continue to wreak havoc. Roads, bridges, railway lines and other infrastructures has been destroyed by the floods in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur.

The survivors say while some of them have been provided tents others are still living under the open sky. They have no shelter from the elements, including rains.

Rakhi Mai from Rajanpur district says that the floodwater rose suddenly and she was unable to save her buffaloes. Tears roll down her wrinkled face as she recalls the day. Rakhi Mai is a widow. The buffaloes, she says, were her only source of income.

Muhammad Shafiq, an advocate, says that while he managed to save his family, he could not save his house. Muhammad Ali from Bambli area says that his cotton crop was completely destroyed and his house washed away. While water is drying up, he says, he does not have the money needed to sow the next crop.

There are many such stories.

Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Muzaffargarh and Mianwali were highly impacted by floods. The Punjab government has established medical camps and is providing three meals a day to the homeless people.

In many cases the losses have been catastrophic. The relief workers assigned to the task by the government are finding it hard to reach everybody affected by the flood.

Mubarkan Mai says that her daughter is expecting. She says her dai (midwife) has moved to someplace else. With limited access to formal health facilities, she does not know where to go. A doctor at a medical camp in the area says that they are providing medical facilities to all flood-affected people free of cost. She says she has found almost all women including expecting mothers malnourished. “Their faces are pale. Most of them are blood deficient,” she worries.

She also worries that women in these areas do not use regular menstrual hygiene pads. Instead, they use old cloth. “The practice is very harmful... especially when there are water-borne diseases spreading in the area,” says the doctor.

Mubarkan Mai points out that they are living in the open. “Soon it will be winter. We are poor people. We cannot build homes fast. We will need help to keep out cold,” she says.

The government of the Punjab has announced a compensation plan for the flood affected families. Chief Minister Chaudhary Parvez Elahi had said that compensation for the damaged houses, crops and livestock will be paid once surveys to assess the damages are complete.

Zahid Akhtar Zaman, the Board of Revenue member, says that a survey of flood related losses is under way by the government with the help of Pakistan Army, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). He says it will be completed by October 18.

He says that Rs 400,000 will be paid to flood victims for each collapsed pucca house and Rs 200,000 for a mud house. He says that the data with regard to damage to crops and animals is also being compiled. He says that compensation cheques will be distributed within a week of the completion of the surveys.

Shahnawaz Khan, the regional coordinator at the Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO), says that their teams have visited Rajanpur and distributed around 500 hygiene kits among women and children. He says that while the government is trying to help the flood affected, the scale of destruction is massive.

“Private philanthropists have to come forward and help. Winter is approaching and many lives are at risk.” Khan says many of the affected people are suffering from diarrhoea, as they don’t have safe water to drink. Many are also suffering from various skin diseases and allergies. “People now need warm clothes for the winter ahead.”

Hill torrents have caused much devastation in south Punjab. Khan says the provincial government should ensure that natural drains are not obstructed. He says strict action should be taken against encroachments that endanger whole communities.

The writer is a reporter at The News International. He can be reached at sherali9984@gmail.com