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CatastrophePakistan

Pakistan calls for more flood aid as deaths rise

September 3, 2022

The country has urged the international community not to abandon it as authorities grapple with a relief and rescue operation of a nearly unprecedented scale.

https://p.dw.com/p/4GO6S
Pakistani flood victims receive food as they were displaced from their homes following flash flood in Daddu district in southern Sindh province
Pakistan says the scale of devastation is massiveImage: Ahmed Ali/AA/picture alliance

Pakistan said on Saturday it will need more aid after unprecedented flooding that has left swaths of the country underwater.

Federal planning minister Ahsan Iqbal called for an "immense humanitarian response for 33 million people" impacted by monsoon rains.

International flights carrying fresh supplies have been arriving in Pakistan since early in the week, but even more is needed.

Flash floods have washed away roads, homes and crops, affecting millions.

There were more than 50 additional deaths reported in the southern Sindh province on Saturday. The total death toll now stands at 1,265 people, with that figure including 441 children killed by the flooding. 

"I appeal to my fellow Pakistanis, Pakistan expatriates and the international community to help Pakistan in this hour of need,'' Iqbal said at a news conference.

Earlier this week, the United Nations and Pakistan jointly issued an appeal for $160 million (€160 million) in emergency funding.

Rescue operations ongoing 

Pakistan has established a National Flood Response and Coordination Center to distribute the arriving aid among the affected population.

Over the last four days, 29 planes loaded with relief goods arrived in the country.

Military spokesman Maj. Gen Iftikhar Babar said the army has established 147 relief camps sheltering and feeding more than 50,000 displaced people, while 250 medical camps have provided help to 83,000 people so far.

He added the military was continuing rescue and relief operations.

Displaced people wait to get food and other assistance after fleeing their flood-hit homes
Pakistan's military has set up camps to shelter and feed peopleImage: Sabir Mazhar/AA/picture alliance

Impact of global heating

Multiple officials and experts have blamed the unusual monsoon rains and flooding on climate change, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who earlier this week called on the world to stop "sleepwalking" through the deadly crisis.

He will visit Pakistan on September 9 to tour flood-hit areas and meet with officials.

The National Disaster Management Authority's Lieutenant-General Akhtar Nawaz said Pakistan was facing some "harsh realities of climate change."

The country has received nearly 190% more rain than the 30-year average in the quarter through August.

The floods that have inundated a third of the country were preceded by four heatwaves and multiple raging forest fires

Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of global carbon emissions but is among the 10 countries most vulnerable to the impact of global warming.

lo/wd (AP, dpa, Reuters)