Executive Summary
Developed over six months, in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority/Provincial Disaster Management Authority (NDMA/PDMA), the MIRA is a common methodology for rapid assessment in an emergency. It is designed to identify strategic humanitarian priorities after the onset of an emergency within 72 hours according to a timeline and formula that calculates sample size to reliability limits of a 5 per cent margin of error and 95 per cent confidence interval.
In September 2012, floods in Pakistan affected more than 5 million people. Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh provinces were the hardest hit. Some districts are inundated by floodwaters for the third consecutive year. At the request of the Government, humanitarian partners piloted the Multi-sector Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA) in five of the most-affected districts: Jaffarabad and Naseerabad (in Balochistan); Rajanpur (in Punjab); and Jacobabad and Kashmore (in Sindh).
Primary data collection took place in the five districts from 14 to 24 September, following rapid training of field teams. Data collection took place through interviews of 822 Key Informants in 523 villages/sites and by direct observation of the flood-affected locations and populations. A multi-cluster team analyzed and synthesized primary and secondary data with relevant pre-crisis information to determine the scale and impact of the disaster. MIRA findings represent a snapshot of the nature, severity and impact of the disaster, determined by access to the affected areas and feedback from key informants. Approximately 15 per cent of the villages which would have been part of the sample size could not be accessed due to flooded roads.
The MIRA found at least 2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in the five assessed districts, according to data cross-tabulated with land scan satellite imagery and information provided by district authorities. Achieving consensus on the population in need was challenging as floodwaters continued to rise and more areas became inundated during the assessment, as did the numbers of people affected. The MIRA also revealed movements of some 372,566 people from flooded areas or damaged 218,043 houses. Floods completely damaged 46 percent of the roads and 36 percent partially.
