© UNHCR/J.Tanner

One year after the onset of the worst flooding in Pakistan's history, efforts to aid those who lost everything in the disaster continue, with UNHCR working to provide 45,000 vulnerable families with new homes.

Permanent shelters are being built to house some of the most vulnerable flood victims, those unable to restart their lives on their own. Elsewhere, the UN refugee agency has nearly completed construction of over 30,000 transitional shelters for families who plan to repair or rebuild their homes.

Last year's devastating floods, which began in late July, displaced more than 4 million people and destroyed an estimated 1.7 million homes. UNHCR was first asked to assist in providing aid to flood victims by the provincial government in Balochistan, but the agency's emergency operations rapidly expanded to three other affected provinces. It eventually provided humanitarian assistance to some 2 million flood victims, including tens of thousands of Afghan refugees.

In western Pakistan, in the picturesque Swat Valley, a small UNHCR-financed hydro-electric station is providing power to 200 families living in remote villages. The elevation of the hilltop homes meant the communities were spared major flood damage. But overflowing rivers and streams ripped out power pylons, leaving the settlements, many of which can only be reached by foot, without power.

Across Pakistan, all but five camps for the flood displaced have closed. All are located in Jaffarabad in Balochistan province. Several thousand people remain in makeshift settlements, mainly in Sindh and Punjab provinces. The residents of these settlements say they have not returned home due to the cost of rebuilding, outstanding loans or property disputes.