Floods in Pakistan affected 33 million people and killed at least 1,265.
Karachi:
Flood casualties in Pakistan’s floodwaters continued to rise on Saturday with 57 more deaths, including 25 children, as the country grapples with a near-unprecedented relief and rescue operation. ever had.
A high-level body set up to coordinate the relief effort met for the first time in Islamabad on Saturday, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to examine the disaster.
Record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in the northern mountains have led to floods that have affected 33 million people and killed at least 1,265 people, including 441 children. Flooding, caused by climate change, is still widespread.
The child mortality rate has raised concerns. On Friday, the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) said there was a “much more” risk of children dying from illness following the floods.
The head of the disaster management agency said at the high-level meeting that the floods had flooded a third of the country before four heat waves and many wildfires raged.
“The year 2022 brings some harsh realities of climate change for Pakistan,” the head of the National Disaster Management Authority, Lieutenant General Akhtar Nawaz, told a news conference in front of the country’s top leadership. country.
“We did not see a spring this year – we faced four heat waves that caused large-scale wildfires across the country,” he said.
The fires were particularly severe in the southwestern province of Balochistan, destroying much of the pine forest and other vegetation, not far from areas currently under water.
Balochistan received 436% more rainfall than the 30-year average during this monsoon.
The meeting said the province had seen widespread destruction, including the washing away of vital rail and road networks as well as breakdowns in telecommunications and electricity infrastructure, the meeting said. said.
The country received nearly 190% more rainfall than the 30-year average in the quarter through August, totaling 390.7 millimeters (15.38 inches). Sindh province, with a population of 50 million, was hardest hit, receiving 464% more rain than the 30-year average.
Aid has arrived from a number of countries, with the first humanitarian assistance flight from France landing on Saturday morning in Islamabad. But Pakistan’s largest charity group says there are still millions of people left unreached by aid and relief efforts.
Initial estimates of the damage were put at $10 billion, but investigations are still underway in conjunction with international organisations.
The United Nations has called for $160 million in aid to help tackle what it calls an “unprecedented climate disaster” as the Pakistani navy has moved inland to carry out relief operations in areas sea-like area.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a collaborative feed.)
