People of Kashmir face risk of serious disease in wake of devastating floods
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Version 0 of 1. The floodwaters are finally receding in much of Kashmir, but health experts worry a crisis could be looming with countless bloated livestock floating across the waterlogged region and hundreds of thousands of people living in temporary shelters. Doctors have already seen cases of diarrhoea, skin allergies and fungus, and are worried that the stagnant waters are creating conditions for the outbreak of serious diseases. “The chances of cholera, jaundice and leptospirosis spreading are high,” said Dr Swati Jha with the aid group AmeriCares. “The most essential need right now is clean water.” A disaster described as an “unprecedented catastrophe” has devastated Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan. On the Indian side of the border, more than 200 people were killed and another 275,000 were evacuated after homes, shops and other buildings across the region were inundated almost two weeks ago. In the area of Kashmir controlled by Pakistan, at least 328 people have died and more than 276,600 have been evacuated, with the floods affecting more than 3,000 villages extending into the country’s Punjab region. Pakistani doctors have so far treated 123,000 patients in flood-hit areas, according to the country’s disaster management authority. India has been providing health workers, sewage pumps, water filters, water purifying tablets and generators to supply the relief camps and field hospitals with electricity. Six medical camps and 80 medical teams have already treated around 53,000 patients, according to the Indian army, which has 30,000 additional troops in the region for rescue and relief efforts. But doctors on the ground said the need was vast and urgent, though they added that the cooler mountain temperatures were helping to slow the spread of disease. In Srinagar, the summer capital of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, critical care specialist Dr Javaid Naqishbandi said: “There are pretty high chances of waterborne disease and disease due to overcrowding.” He urged the government to send vaccines and avoid cramming people into shelters. Fayaz Hamed, a local aid worked in Srinagar, said that when he arrived in one submerged neighbourhood on Monday night the smell of rotting flesh was overwhelming. “It was an overpowering stench, and we saw local residents pulling two bodies [of people] out of the water,” he said. India’s health minister, Harsh Vardhan, said a “large number” of doctors from Delhi government hospitals had gone to the region. “I can’t muster enough words in their praise,” he said, pledging to send more medicine, health workers and water cleaning equipment. He also urged local authorities to clear animal carcasses and monitor water supplies. At least 80% of the main city of Srinagar was still under more than three or four metres of water on Tuesday, with most residents now staying in shelters or with relatives on higher ground. Emergency workers have started pumping out standing water, but the clean-up operation is expected to last for months. The floods have also had a huge impact on communications and mobile phone services have only been restored in recent days. “After the floods, the second disaster came when telecommunications broke down,” said local school teacher Reyaz Qazi, who had two telephones in continual use on Tuesday trying to reach any of his 10 relatives and friends who were missing. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has asked the country to skip celebrations for his birthday on Wednesday, and instead focus on helping Kashmir. “My humble request do not celebrate my birthday. Instead, dedicate yourselves towards relief work in Jammu and Kashmir through your time and resources,” Modi said on Twitter. |