‘God, come help us’: Pakistan families still hungry and homeless six months after floods

Several times a week, Manzoor Ali wakes with a faint hope in his heart and walks from the camp on the outskirts of Dadu, where he and his family have been living since September, to Noorang Chandio, his village an hour away. Each time, he looks to see if the flood water has receded. Each time, he returns disappointed.

This has been Ali’s routine since catastrophic floods hit Pakistan last year. “We lost everything,” says the father of 10. “We can’t go back now as our homes are still flooded and villages are inundated. Officials write down our names but they never come back with any help.

“Some families in other villages who could afford it had the water drained from their homes. They have gone back. We can’t afford it.”

Pakistan experienced its worst-ever flooding last year when three months of heavy downpours submerged about a tenth of the country. The UN called it a climate catastrophe. At least 33 million people were affected, the government said. More than 1,700 people died.

In most areas, the water has receded leaving much damage behind. But in the worst-affected…