Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif told reporters that at least 380 children were among the dead.
Charsadda, Pakistan:
Torrential rains and floods have submerged a third of Pakistan and killed more than 1,100 people, including 380 children, as the United Nations appealed for aid for the “unprecedented climate catastrophe” on Tuesday.
Army helicopters rescue stranded families as unusually heavy monsoon rains destroyed homes, businesses, infrastructure and crops, a historic deluge affecting 15% of the 22-million-strong South Asian nation, 33 million people. Dropped and dropped food packages in inaccessible areas.
The country received nearly 190 per cent more rainfall than the 30-year average in the August quarter this year, totaling 390.7 millimeters (15.38 in). Sindh province, with a population of 50 million, has been the most affected, receiving 466% more rainfall than the 30-year average.
“A third of the country is literally under water,” Climate Change Minister Sherry Rahman told Reuters, describing the scale of the disaster as “a devastation of unknown precedent”.
He said that the water is not going to recede anytime soon.
At least 380 children are among the dead, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif told reporters during a briefing at his office in Islamabad.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a video message, “Pakistan is suffering.” “The Pakistanis are facing the monsoon on steroids – a continuing effect of rain and flood-era levels.”
A UN spokesman said Guterres would visit Pakistan next week to see the effects of the “unprecedented climate disaster”.
He said the scale of the climate disaster attracted the world’s collective attention.
About 300 stranded people, including some tourists, were airlifted in northern Pakistan on Tuesday, while more than 50,000 people were taken to two government shelters in the northwest, the state-run disaster management agency said in a statement.
“Life here is very painful,” said villager Hussain Sadiq, 63, who was at one of the shelters with his parents and five children, adding that his family had “lost everything.”
Hussain said medical aid was inadequate, and diarrhea and fever were common at the shelter.
Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited the northern valley of Swat and reviewed the rescue and relief operations, saying “rehabilitation will take a long, long time.”
The United States will provide $30 million for Pakistan’s flood response through USAID, its embassy in Islamabad said in a statement, adding that the country is “deeply saddened by the devastating loss of lives, livelihoods and homes across Pakistan.”
‘Obligation to help’
The government said initial estimates put flood damage at more than $10 billion, adding the world has an obligation to help Pakistan cope with the effects of man-made climate change.
The damage is likely to be enormous, the prime minister said.
Torrential rains have triggered sudden floods that have lashed down the northern mountains, destroying buildings and bridges, and washing away roads and standing and stored crops.
Huge amounts of water are being poured into the Indus River, which flows from its northern peaks to the southern plains in the middle of the country, flooding its length.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said thousands of people were living outside without food, clean water, shelter or basic health facilities.
Guterres said he hoped to raise $160 million with the appeal, which would provide food, water, sanitation, emergency education and health assistance to 5.2 million people.
‘Not enough help’
Prime Minister Sharif said the amount of aid would “need to be multiplied rapidly,” vowing that “every penny will reach the needy, there will be no wastage.”
Sharif feared the devastation would further derail an economy that was already in turmoil, possibly a severe food shortage and skyrocketing inflation, which stood at 24.9% in July.
Wheat sowing may also be delayed, he said, and to mitigate its impact, Pakistan was already in talks with Russia on wheat imports.
National Disaster Agency chief General Akhtar Nawaz said that out of 160 districts of Pakistan, at least 72 districts have been declared disaster-hit.
He said more than 20 lakh acres (809,371 hectares) of agricultural land have been flooded.
Bhutto-Zardari said that Pakistan has become ground zero for global warming.
“The situation is likely to worsen as heavy rains continue to lash the areas affected by the storm and floods for more than two months,” he said.
Guterres called on the international community for a quick response to Pakistan’s request for help, and called for an end to the “golden ploy toward the destruction of our planet by climate change”.
“Excessive monsoon floods tell us there is no time to waste, the climate tipping point is here,” said climate change minister Rahman, adding that Pakistan seeks the developed world so that it does not pay for other countries’ carbon-supported development. .
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)