Climate Minister Sherry Rehman said the floods were an ‘humanitarian disaster of epic proportions’ leaving thousands without food and shelter.
Historical monsoon rains and floods in Pakistan have affected more than 30 million people in the past few weeks, the country’s climate change minister said on Thursday.
Pakistan has appealed to the international community for help in relief efforts as it struggles to deal with the aftermath of torrential rains that caused massive flooding. since last monthkilled more than 900 people.
“Thirty-three million people have been affected in different ways. Climate Minister Sherry Rehman said.
During a press conference on Thursday, Rehman described the flooding as a “humanitarian disaster of monumental scale” that left thousands without food and shelter.
“We are not just asking the provinces and Islamabad, that is beyond the ability of any administration or government to recover and even manage the rescue and relief,” she added.
There is currently only one focus in Pakistan: resources, coordination and relief to the millions of people trapped by the virus. #monstermonsoons The latest cumulative figures show Sindh peaking at 784% 1/2 pic.twitter.com/tmFfLHpe8F
– Senator SherryRehman (@sherryrehman) August 25, 2022
Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal alone said 30 million people had been affected, a figure equivalent to about 15% of the South Asian nation’s population.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update on Thursday that monsoon rains have affected about three million people in Pakistan, of which 184,000 have been displaced. relief camps across the country.
Heavy rains have caused flash floods and devastated much of Pakistan since mid-June, leaving 903 dead and about 50,000 homeless, the country’s disaster agency said on Wednesday.
Thousands of people whose homes were swept away are now living in tents, kilometers away from their flooded villages and towns, after being helped by soldiers, local disaster workers and volunteers. rescue.
The National Disaster Management Agency says 126 people have died in flood-related incidents in the past 48 hours, with most victims being women and children. Flooding has exacerbated Pakistan’s economic crisis.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif issued an appeal from abroad, calling on benefactors to help flood-affected areas in Pakistan.
‘Crazy sky’
Most of the damage was in Sindh province in the south of the country.
“Brother, the rain has not stopped for the past three months… We are living in a trailer with our children because the roof of our mud house leaks,” said an unnamed woman from Hyderabad, the city Sindh’s second largest said. .
Rehman said Sindh has received “784 percent” more rainfall this month than the monthly average in August.
OCHA also warned warnings have been issued for floods, river overflows and landslides in some parts of Pakistan and heavy rainfall is also forecast for the next two days across most of the country.
Sitting with her three children in the trailer, she said, “Where can we go? The gutters overflow, and our yard is full of sewage. Our houses and alleys have turned into a floating trash can.”
Meanwhile, southwestern province of Balochistan receives 496 percent of the rainfall above the 30-year average.
She said in a tweet: “This rising water not only on both sides of the Indus River in southern Pakistan has caused a new flash flood phenomenon where rain for 7-8 cycles is unprecedented, super areas wide from the sky mercilessly.
