A regional daily journalist has returned from an unforgettable trip to two third world countries that have been affected by natural disasters.

Birmingham Mail features writer Mary Griffin travelled to Pakistan and Bangladesh with local charity Islamic Relief which campaigns for more work to prepare for cyclones, floods and earthquakes before they hit.

Mary spent part of the trip in the coastal region of Sindh in Pakistan which is still recovering from devastating floods in 2010 that left left a death toll of close to 2,000.

There she met families affected by the flooding including Chagu Porthero and her family who are still getting their life back on track after one of the world’s worst natural disasters in recent history.

Writing about her experience as part of several features on extreme weather for the Birmingham Mail, Mary recalled the family’s 70-mile journey by foot, bus and tractor to dry land after the flooding wiped out their home.

Mary's article examined the aftermath of the 2010 floods in Pakistan.

The article follows the family’s battle to survive as they lived in a small school with 400 other people, as one fifth of the country remained underwater.

Chagu told Mary about the family’s heartbreaking 70-mile journey back to home where they found everthing they once knew had been destroyed and she suffered the loss of her father and three-year-old girl.

“It costs Islamic Relief just £300 to build a flood-resilient home to protect a family ahead of the next disaster,” wrote Mary.

“But three years after the last there are villages that still haven’t received any aid, where people will spend tonight sleeping in the dust.

“The charity is calling for a radical rehaul to spend aid on preparation for communities in hazard zones before disaster strikes.”

Mary in the waterlogged village of Bhopanipur, southern Bangladesh

Chagu has spent the last three years sleeping in the dust under a flimsy shelter of wooden stakes but 10 weeks ago, she moved into one of the new homes built by Islamic Relief

“Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Agency says £2 billion had to be spent on relief and recovery after the floods, while £6 billion was suffered in losses,” added Mary.

“But if just five per cent of that had been spent on disaster preparation and protection before the floods, the losses would have been cut by 90 per cent.”

The trip was particularly topical following Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and work is being done with local communities to identify the risks they face and to form contingency plans.

Mary, who also visited Bhopanipur in southern Bangladesh, says it costs less to invest in flood-resilient homes than it does to support families with emergency aid after they have lost everything.

“We heard some terrifying accounts from survivors of cyclones and people who lived through the worst floods Pakistan has ever seen. Lots of people had been hit by these disasters again and again,” Mary told HTFP.

“We also heard some very moving stories from people who lost children and grandchildren in severe storms, and tragic tales of loss of life weeks and months after the storms, because of a lack of food and shelter and outbreaks of disease.

“It makes you realise how desperate the situation must be in the Philippines after the typhoon and how that will continue long after the cameras have left.”

Mary previously travelled to Bangladesh in 2009 for the Guardian International Development Journalism Competition, when she spent a week in the slums of Dhaka, reporting on the most marginalised women at the bottom of the caste hierarchy.