Pakistan Floods: Savings Lives over Social Media

Today, I write about a place I hold close to my heart and how my heart breaks to witness this tragedy from a distance. I have no words to express my sorrow or narrate the story in a coherent manner. So, I gather tidbits from my personal social media network and present this amalgam of information to my readers. Henceforth, are stories mentioned by friends and I give credit to each of them as I continue. But, how do I really begin? Perhaps, the following quote will help put it in perspective:

"More importantly, it should concern us as human beings: a dying father tied his newborn child to a tree trusting that someone would help. That someone should be all of us," writes Jemima Khan in a recent editorial in The Sunday Times regarding the flood situation in Pakistan (courtesy: Amaan Akram, Ameena Ghaffar, Farheen Lodhi, Kiran Fulton, Novira Sabir). Scientists have described this catastrophe as a "once-in-a-century flood," according to reporter Howard Falcon-Lang of the BBC and health experts are warning that the threat of epidemics in flood-hit areas is growing- the hard part has just begun (Madiha Arsalan Sheikh). The flooding continues and so does the devastation (courtesy: Afia Nathaniel, Mahvish Raza, Masooma Fahd, Salahuddin Khwaja

To summarise some statistics:

• One-fifth of Pakistan is flooded.


• 1600 people have died.


• 20 million out of a population of 180 million people are homeless.


• 17 million acres of farmland is under water.


• The estimated cost of damage is upwards of $10 billion.


• Total damage is greater than the combined damage caused by the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, the Northern Pakistan and the Indian earthquake in 2005, and the recent earthquake in Haiti. (courtesy: Fatima Ashraf)

United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has described what he witnessed during his visit to flood-devasted Pakistan as "heart-wrenching." He further said: "In the past I have seen scenes of natural disaster around the world, but nothing like this. The scale of this disaster is so large. So many people in so many places in so much need." He announced a further $10m from the UN's central emergency response fund, making a total of $27m from the fund so far, and repeated his calls for the international community to come to Pakistan's aid, writes Lyce Douset from BBC News in Islamabad (courtesy: Salman Hussain Azhar).

Sadly though, for the most part, the cries of the Pakistani people are falling on deaf ears. There is a quiet hesitance from the rest of the world to reach out to a country that has become the face of disaster in almost every shape and form. "The steady drip of negative 'terror-' obsessed media coverage has done Pakistanis a great disservice," said Catriona Luke in her editorial in The Guardian. (courtesy: Novira Sabir, Uzma Afzal).

Is someone trying to help? In my opinion the media hype isn't enough but yes, most friends on my social media networks have continued to share resources signifying how each of them care about the issue at hand and some of them are making a real effort. Guilt-free desserts is an effort started by Ameena Ghaffar who has undertaken the responsibility to bake in order to raise money for the cause and she was also one of the first few to compile a list of organisations where we could donate funds. The Islamic Relief efforts supported by Mujahid Ghazi, journalist and public figure in Chicago have helped raise awareness and money to be sent to those affected in Pakistan.

An interesting effort is under way which is inspired by one of the tools that helped coordinate relief efforts in Haiti earlier this year, which was an open-source platform developed by Ushahidi. The New York Times ran a story on the phenomenal innovation in social media networking and Imad Ahmed, a Pakistani journalist helped bring this tool to my attention which is a similar platform, found on the Pakistan Flood Incident Reporting site that has been created by Faisal Chohan, a Pakistani social entrepreneur. Ahmed writes that the, "success of the platform relies on every relief effort reporting their activities, so that overlap efforts can be avoided and those who haven't received aid can be identified. Survivors and relief workers on the ground can report the need for supplies via text (3441 FL) or by web. The online incident system is set up to get update reports from the field and place them on the map. The information is useful for humanitarian agencies working in the worst floods in Pakistan."

On further investigation, this is an effort that needs to be brought to the attention of public at large and more information can be found on the Pakistan Flood Incident Reporting website. At the moment they need support in following areas:

Design multi-lingual brochures, print them and spread following messages. The message to spread is simple: "Text your observations about the disaster and your location so we can put this on a map." People can report their observations by texting to 3441 and starting their message with "FL".

• Volunteers to approve and map the reports coming from the flood affected areas.


• Train the humanitarian agencies in using the incident reporting.


• Logistics support in terms of computers, space and power backup.

Pakistan Flood Incident Reporting mention that currently the project is supported by following organisations and individuals:

Digitania Pakistan which is providing SMS shortcode, mobile messaging gateway and all the SMS infrastructure., Cogilent Solutions & BrightSpyre who are leading the project, managing the technology and coordinating the project activities. If anyone would like to join and support the Flood Incident Reporting System please write to: pkfloods@brightspyre.com.

More information can be found on the National Disaster Management Authority, from Prime Minister's Secretariat, Government of Pakistan's website.

Once again, we realise that we are only human and need one another to survive. Social media networks have helped bring people together and in this time of dire need we see these support systems come alive. We are only reminded that if and when someone ties his baby to the branch of tree, alongside the grief, there is hope in the world. Someone will save his baby because deep in our hearts we know have been entrusted with a social responsibility, along with the power to do so.

Photo Credit: K.M. Chaudry