PDI’s PHET Cyclone Rapid Assessment District Gwadar

1. 1. Objective of the Assessment

The objective of the rapid assessment was to visit the affected communities/ areas, Assess the situation, collect firsthand information of the damages/ destruction and analyze the situation so that different organizations/ stakeholders can decide and strategize for response to this disaster.

1. 2. Assessment Team

• Sikander Brohi Director Participatory Development Initiatives [PDI]
• Faheem Raza Manager Communication / Media PDI
• Saima Hassan Program Officer [Gender] PDI
• Abdullah Usman Member RCDC
• Kiran Noor Social Mobilizer RCDC

1. 3. Areas Visited

• Gwadar
• Sur Bundar
• Pishukan
• Jiwani
• Pasni

1. 4. Assessment Methodology

The team comprised of members with different expertise. The team visited almost all the most affected areas/ localities of Gwadar, Sur Bundar, Pishukan and Jiwani and Pasni. The assessment team used participatory approach to collect the information. The major techniques used included meetings with the local communities, and focus group discussions with the women and men, key informants interviews including the interviews of the elders and the elected representatives, media persons and government officials Union Councils and the district.

1. 5. Background of the Disaster

On 31 May 2010, tropical depression in Central Arabian Sea resulted into formation of tropical cyclone “PHET”. “PHET” struck Northeast tip of Oman coast night of June 4, 2010 and moved towards the coastal areas of Balochistan and Sindh. Cyclone PHET entered in Pakistan’s coastal areas on June 6, 2010 with a sustained wind speed of 60 to 80 km/hour.  PHET had already lost much of its intensity after hitting Omani coastal areas two days prior to reaching landfall in Pakistan. By the time it hit the coastal area of Pakistan the Cyclone had been downgraded to a tropical storm Nevertheless, ’Phet’ caused heavy rain falls – as much as 370 mm in the coastal town of Gwadar in Baluchistan.

The cyclone narrowly missed Karachi and made landfall near fishing town of Keti Bandar and then it hit Thatta, Badin and Hyderabad Districts in Sindh.  The storm disrupted life in the coastal areas of Baluchistan and Sindh, where several hundred mud houses collapsed and roads were blocked and damaged. Thousands of coastal communities were evacuated before the cyclone hit the coastal areas as a result loss to the lives was saved.

1. 6. Situation Analysis

6.1 Gwadar City

Gwadar town is comprised of three Union Councils i.e. Gwadar Southern, Gwadar Central and Gwadar Northern. According to the team observation and the testimonies of the local communities, UC Southern, which is facing the Arabian Sea and is mainly populated by poor fishermen families, was hit hard as a result of heavy rains. The main localities of the UC which were worst affected included Mula Bund, Giti Lane, Watri Bazar and Kumbhari.  Majority of the houses have completely collapsed in this Union Council.

Union Council Gwadar Central was also affected; however, the impact of rain was less compared to Gwadar Southern. The main Localities including Ismailia, Soorabi, Kolgari, Usmania, Girls School Ward, Senator Ishaque Ward and Gazrwan were heavily affected as a result of heavy rains. A large number of houses have either completely or partially damaged in this union council.

Union Council Gwadar North was also affected due to heavy rains in the area. The localities most affected in this Union Council included Laal Bux Ward, Assa Ward, Baloch Ward, Thana Ward, Nigori Ward and TTC Colony. A large number of houses have either completely or partially damaged in this union council. During the visit of the team after three days were passed to the heavy rains, still water was standing in the houses, streets, playgrounds, offices, and other places of all three union councils. The debris of the destroyed houses was visible everywhere with families living in open skies, on the debris of their houses trying to fix the broken structures of their houses. In all the three Union Councils, the boundary –walls of majority of the havelies have collapsed leaving the houses open and families exposed.

In the low laying areas of the Union Councils in majority cases the belongings of the families including utensils and food and nonfood items have also either spoiled or have flooded away by the strong waves of the flooding created by heavy rains in these areas. The Water Supply lines of the all three Union Councils of Gwadar have been heavily damaged. They have become nonfunctional in many areas, while in those area where still the water supply is functional, it is providing polluted water as the drainage lines have mixed with water supply lines in those area.

During the visit the team saw majority of households busy in pulling out water from their households. They were using motors as the electricity was restored after three days. However, due to being low lying areas with increased groundwater, it was difficult for them to pull out water from their households.

6.2  Sur Bunder

Union Council Sur Bunder is basically fisher-folk town near Gwadar. Sur Bunder Union Council was also heavily affected by the rains. The main localities affected in the Union Council /town is Shidaat Ward, Baloch Ward, Kapri Mohala and Washeen Dhor. A large number of houses have either completely or partially damaged in this union council. During the visit the team found that still water was standing in the destroyed houses in different colonies and localities of the area. Drainage system was completely collapsed as the streets were filled with rain and drainage water as well as filth etc. The damage to the houses in Ward # 1 in Sur Bundar was to the extent that all the families from this ward had to leave their destroyed house and take refuge in the newly built government labor colony. There was severe shortage of drinking water in the area as the water supply was completely damaged. The water tankers were the only drinking water source for the affected families. However, they were also providing unhygienic water to the local affected communities.

6.3 Pishukan

Pishukan Union Council especially its Pishukan town is an isolated place between Gwadar and Jiwani. It is situated in the south of Coastal Highway between Gwadar and Jiwani, close to the sea. The town is backward in the sense that it is still not connected with the rest of province with metaled road. That is why in the case of any disaster especially rains and floods it is disconnected from rest of the province for many days. Same situation was witnessed after the current rains the town was disconnected from rest of province for six days as the pathways leading to the town were filled with water.  Three Police men injured as a result of the collapse of one of the rooms of Police Station were shifted to Karachi through helicopter on the third day of the rains.

In Pishukan both the town and its rural areas where the villagers usually depend on the rain-fed agriculture were heavily affected by the rains. In the town the main localities affected included Baresi, Kasba Ward, Mir Qadir Dad Ward and Kunraki ward. The town is comprised of 2000 Households, out of which 60 percent households are completely affected.  The badly established drainage system of the town further played havoc with the houses as the standing drainage water further weakened the basis of the houses.  According to the field observation and interviews with the local communities, Bareshi locality was hard hit due to the rains followed by Kasba, Dasti and other colonies.

In Pishukan town majority of the houses have either completely destroyed or received cracks. Similarly the kitchens and toilets of the vast majority of the houses have completely destroyed. The town was provided water through water supply scheme from Gwadar Dam, however, after the rains the water supply scheme has also damaged and the affected communities are not receiving drinking water from the water supply. This has created severe shortage of drinking water as the water storages of the local households have also been mixed with rainwater. A large number of boats of the local communities have also been broken in the rains.

6.4 Jiwani

Jiwani is one of the tehsils of District Gwadar. Jiwani is comprised of two Union Councils i.e. Jiwani and Suntsar. Jiwani Union Council is the remotest union council of Gwadar district, bordering with Iran through sea route. One of the Iranian ports is on about half an hour speedboat drive from the town. The town is divided in different localities including Goetri Bazar, Ganz, Robar, Panwan and Okhar. Goetri Bazar was the most affected area as it was hit hard. Although the people of the area feared from the sea waves, however, they suddenly faced flooding which came from the other side and pushed them and their belonging especially boats towards the sea. The Goetri Bazar locality and the fishing port were damaged as a result of breach one of the Bunds in the area.

In Jiwani like other towns, majority of houses have either collapsed or have received severe cracks which has made those houses difficult to live in.  Majority of the households have found their kitchens and toilets completely destroyed. Water supply in the town has also been damaged as a result there was severe shortage of drinking water in the town.

The bund floodwater after destroying almost all the households in Goetri Bazar moved towards the fishing port where all the fishermen of the local areas had kept their boats out of sea to save them from the cyclone. The heavy flood water severely hit the boats and threw them in the sea water, breaking the boats and damaging their nets etc.

6.4 Pasni

Pasni is one of the tahsils of Gwadar district comprised of four Union Councils i.e. Pasni Northen, Pasni Southen, Kalag and Nailaint. Heavy rains lashed out and hit hard the town areas of the tehsil. The rains heavily affected the town locality of the town close to the sea.  The government was prompt to establish camps in the town area for the people who were living in the vulnerable localities. However, majority of the vulnerable communities preferred to live with their relatives in place of living in the camps. The  houses have sustained losses in the town area, while in the rural areas, a large number of bundat have been breached which would largely affect the agriculture sector.

1. 7. Major Findings of the Assessment

7.1 Shelter

About 10,000 houses have been almost completely damaged in Gwadar, Sur Bundar, Pishukan, Jiwani and Pasni. Majority of the houses in the area are built of block bricks, with wooden roofs. They also use iron guarders. The boundary walls are usually katcha. However, in many cases both the boundary walls and the walls of the houses are built of block bricks. Camps were established in Gwadar and Pasni before the cyclone hit the area. About five camps were established in Pasni and six in Gwadar. Although about ten thousand local population was displaced / evacuated from different vulnerable areas of Gwadar and Pasni however, majority of them preferred to live with their relatives. In the initial days about 4000 population lived in the camps.

They were served food and water by the local government, Navy and other philanthropists. However, as the threat of the cyclone subsided, the communities living in the camps moved to their homes. As majority of the families have either completely or partially lost their homes, it is very threatening for their lives to return to their homes. During the visit to different areas, assessment teams found that the affected women, men and children were living in open sky on the debris of their completely destroyed households. Those whose houses were partially damaged were living inside their homes and were engaged in removing debris and water from their homes and courtyards.

7.2 Health and Hygiene

The sewerage systems are blocked in the major towns including Gwadar, Jiwani and Pishukan. Due to large scale damage to the traditional toilets the cases of open defecation have increased which is also causing danger of certain diseases. Epidemic is expected to break up in certain areas like diahorea, gastro, skin diseases, UTI, Malaria. Already some cases of diahoria, gastro and skin are reported to BHUs in the area. Children are moving in stagnant water bare footed and are very much exposed to all types of diseases.

Meanwhile, the drainage system has completely collapsed in all the localities of all the towns of district Gwadar. As a result, drainage water is stranding on the streets and this may generate malaria and other deadly diseases. Similarly, the quality of drinking water used by the affected communities is not satisfactory and the water cannot be considered as safe. For example in Gwadar town, the drinking water lines have been broken and mixed with the drainage lines as a result the drinking water is polluted and unsafe for the health. Similarly, the team witnessed that the trucks hired by the district government for providing drinking water to the affected communities were filling water from the water ponds of flood water from the remote areas of the town.

7.3 Food and Nutrition

The affected communities are the poorest communities of the area, majority of them engaged in fishing. In the normal cases, they purchase and stock food for week to two weeks in their homes. In the case of wheat flour, they usually keep the stock for one month also. As a result of heavy rains and destruction of the houses, all the food stocks have been lost by the poor affected families. Besides, those families mainly being fishermen have not gone to sea for fishing since last 15 to 20 days. Therefore, they have almost no savings to purchase food. This has threatened the food security in many communities in different towns of district Gwadar.  In these areas food intake for women is already very low because she is the last one in the home to eat, so if there will be a shortage of food at household level it will be women who will suffer most.

7.4 Water and Sanitation

The drinking water sources of the local communities have been damaged in the PHET cyclone. Almost all the major towns including Gwadar, Pasni, Sur Bunder, Pishukan and Jiwani had their water supply schemes; however, those schemes have been largely damaged. In Gwadar, the water supply lines have been mixed with the drainage lines and in Pishukan the water supply has become nonfunctional following the rains. Therefore, the water tankers are the only source of water for the affected communities. The water provided by the tankers is not considered as safe as majority of the tankers fill water from the nearby rainwater ponds.

The situation of sanitation is also not encouraging. According to the local traditions, the local people prepare latrines by diffing wells in the ground. All the corners of the wells are strengthened with stones leaving spaces for the seepage of water. In the severely affected areas all the almost all the latrines have destroyed. This has created serious sanitation problems as the scale of open defecation has increased in the area following the large scale destruction of the toilets in the most affected areas.

7.5 Fisheries and Agriculture Livelihoods

The livelihoods of the local communities have been largely affected as a result of the cyclone PHET. The worst affected is the fisheries livelihoods as the local communities associated with the fisheries livelihoods remained fishing since many years due to the looming threats of cyclone. As the rains and cyclone hit the area, a large number of boats of the fishermen were destroyed in the rains and cyclone almost crippling the livelihoods of the fisher-folk communities. Although a number of big boats and trawlers have been damaged but majority of the damaged boats are the smaller ones, affecting the small fishermen in the large scale.

Besides the fisheries, agriculture livelihood has also been affected. Agriculture in the area is practiced through Khushkaba and Sailaba agriculture systems. Bundat are the key source of storing water for the purpose of moisture for agriculture. A large number of such bundat have been damaged / washed away in the heavy rains in the area, leaving the local agriculture communities in vulnerable conditions. According to the locals they would not be able to cultivate the coming crop if the breached bundat are not repaired.

1. 8. What has so far been done?

• The district government established camps in Gwadar and Pasni and provided food and water to the people camps till the threat of cyclone subsided
• The district government, Unicef and some other agencies are providing drinking water to the local communities through tankers
• Some medical camps have been established in different Union Councils
• Food stuff was provided through helicopter in Pishukan town
• A number national and international NGO are still conducting assessments

1. 9. Logistics:

The coastal highway (Karachi Gwadar) is open for light traffic and within a few days should also be open for heavy traffic. The District can also be reached by sea via Gwadar Port .There is access to all areas in the District, apart from those within 20km on either side of the river in the west.

The accommodation is available in the Hotel or Government guesthouse. All types of transportation are available for loading and unloading of materials including water boats. All the major mobile networks services are available and satellite phone can be used as contingency communication mode.

10. Security

Overall security is stable in the area and the crime rate is not high in the area.

11. Recommendations

11.1 Immediate Actions

• Out of 10,000 households whose houses have been completely damaged about 4,000 poor families have completely lost their food and other household items and are in strong need of food support for at least two months, to recover them from the shock and ensure their food security. The same families have also need of nonfood Items [NFIs] especially kitchen sets
• Due to the deteriorating health and hygiene conditions and improper quality of drinking water there is strong need for the distribution of hygiene kit among the worst affected families in all the towns of district Gwadar.
• With the large scale destruction of the traditional toilets and increase in the practice of open defection, there is strong need for providing sanitation facilities on emergency basis especially establishment of temporary toilets in the most affected localities of all the towns of district.
• The complete destruction of houses of the poor families have left them homeless, therefore, there is strong need of distribution of camps, sheets and tarpals for temporary shelter of the local communities
• Safe drinking water is the key for ensuring health of the affected communities. Although different departments are providing drinking water but there is need for treating such water before consumption. Therefore, there is need of distribution of water treatment Water treatment agents/products. Besides, there is also need for water containers at household level for keeping safe water in the house for drinking purposes.

11.2 Long term rehabilitation

• Majority of the local communities whose houses have completely been destroyed are poorest of poor and it was difficult for them to again build their houses, therefore, there is need of launching a rehabilitation project of constructing houses for the poorest of poor communities in accordance to the local conditions and environment
• A large number of boats and the boat engines of the local communities have been destroyed throwing those communities to worst ever poverty. There is strong need of launching a rehabilitation program of repairing the boats, nets and boat engines of the local communities. Similarly, destruction of bundat have also left the agriculture community in doldrums with no capacity to again repair such bundat, therefore, there is strong need for launching a program for the repair and construction of bundat in the district.
• There is strong need of launching a comprehensive program of disaster risk reduction including early warning systems in the district with large components on awareness and capacity building of the local communities as well as their capacity building and planning for preventing disaster losses. The program should also have a strong component on the climate change and its relationship with the disasters, climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.