ISLAMABAD - I have some strong impressions from my visit to flood stricken areas in Sindh this weekend. I have seen people who have lost everything in the floods, now living in shacks on the roadside with nothing to eat and no clean water to drink. Huge areas were flooded and roads were blocked. I saw trucks with food supplies that were stranded in the water and people walking for several hundred yards in contaminated water to get grass for what was left of their livestock. Norwegian Ambassador to Pakistan Cecilie Landsverk shared these views during his visit to some of the most flood-affected areas in Sindh from Friday to Sunday. She visited the districts of Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Shikapur and a small village, Shah Bag Mari, completely cut off due to flood. She spoke to representatives from the PDMA in Karachi and the District Council in Sanghar. The aim of the visit was to gain a firsthand impression of how people have been affected, what their immediate needs are, and how assistance has much been provided so far. It is a huge challenge that people in these areas do not have clean drinking water. Diarrhoea is beginning to spread and it will increase unless Pakistani authorities, civil society and the international community quickly respond to the need for water-purification. It is also a huge challenge that large parts of crops are damaged and it will take many months before new seeds can be planted, she said. The ambassador visited emergency operations set up by a Norwegian NGO named NCA, and its Pakistani counterpart RDF (Research and Development Foundation), in the Mirpurkhas area. Its Executive Director, Masood Ahmet Mahesar, participated in the fieldtrip and explained about the challenges and the relief efforts. The Norwegian government has already contributed funds to this project, and it has also been decided by the Norwegian government to contribute further 40 million Norwegian kroner ($ 7 million) as a response to the UN flash appeal for emergency assistance. After the visit to Sindh, the Ambassador recognises the importance of immediate assistance to the flood-affected Pakistani people.