MSF teams have visited several areas in Pakistan following floods caused by Cyclone Yemyin. The cyclone hit Pakistan with heavy rains and high winds on June 26. MSF is running mobile clinics, and distributing relief goods including tents, blankets, hygiene kits and emergency food supplies. On July 14, an MSF team began working in Barija, a remote area where no other aid organisations have been so far.

Immediately after floods were reported in Balochistan province, MSF contacted the government of Pakistan. The government did not grant permission to access the affected areas until July 5. Two MSF teams have since travelled to several areas. In most of the affected areas, the majority of houses were destroyed, but most public buildings are still standing.

MSF provided emergency food supplies, blankets, plastic tubs and mugs to about 350 families in the village of Bagh Tel. The team also treated 270 patients in one day, mostly for diarrhoea and skin infections. In the area of Magsi Shak, the team provided tents, plastic sheeting, cooking and hygiene kits, and emergency food supplies to 76 families who did not have proper shelter.

"The biggest problem is the roads," says Tom Roth, MSF head of mission in Pakistan. "Travelling by car is very difficult; one of our vehicles got stuck in the muddy earth and it took hours to get it out. Many villages are still cut off, even after the water disappeared. Bridges and entire roads sometimes have vanished completely.

"Large areas have been inundated with water, which means that crops are lost. Although there have been some deliveries of food to the affected districts, we are concerned about the ongoing food situation in the months to come.

"In the areas we visited and which are the most affected, in Nasirabad and Jaffarabad, the people do have access to medical care. Therefore, we decided we should go to more remote areas, where no one else has been so far, like Barija, in Jhal Magsi district.

"Our team set up an emergency aid operation in the district