Pakistan Appeals For Further International Aid In Its 'Hour Of Need' After Floods
Relentless monsoon rains and melting glaciers in northern mountains have brought floods that have affected 33 million people in Pakistan.
Flood-ravaged Pakistan has appealed to the international community for an “immense humanitarian response” to help the South Asian nation in its “hour of need” as the death toll surpassed 1,265 people from the current disaster.
“The scale of devastation is massive and requires an immense humanitarian response for 33 million people,” Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal told reporters on September 3.
“For this, I appeal to my fellow Pakistanis, Pakistan expatriates, and the international community to help Pakistan in this hour of need.”
Relentless monsoon rains and melting glaciers in northern mountains have brought floods that have affected 33 million people. Health officials said at least 57 people had died in the past 24 hours.
In Pictures: Pakistan's Lethal Floods
1/18The rains that began in June have destroyed swaths of vital crops and damaged or destroyed more than a million homes, such as these in Balochistan Province.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
2/18A woman salvages her belongings near a makeshift home surrounded by water in Sohbatpur.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
3/18Because roads and bridges like this one in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province are being washed away, authorities and NGOs are finding it difficult to reach more than 33 million people affected by the floods.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
4/18With dry land limited, displaced people like this man in Mehar are seeking elevated positions to escape the flooded plains.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
5/18"We don't even have space to cook food. We need help," Rimsha Bibi, a schoolgirl in Dera Ghazi Khan in central Pakistan, told the AFP news agency.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
6/18The summer monsoon season often brings with it torrential rains that are needed for agriculture in areas such as Dera Allah Yar, in Balochistan.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
7/18However, this years monsoons have caused widespread misery, killing hundreds of people and devastating livestock and crops.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
8/18Pakistani officials have blamed climate change, which is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather around the world, for the destruction in areas such as the city of Sohbat Pur (pictured) in Baluchistan Province.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
9/18Compared to more affluent countries, Pakistan emits only a fraction of the greenhouse gases that are warming the world, yet it suffers outsized damage.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
10/18For families such as this one in Sohbatpur, in southwestern Balochistan Province, the nonstop rains have raised the possibility of food shortages during what is expected to be the most damaging monsoon season in recent memory.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
11/18"To see the devastation on the ground is really mind-boggling," Pakistani Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman told AFP.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
12/18"When we send in water pumps, they say 'Where do we pump the water?' It's all one big ocean, there's no dry land to pump the water out." Rehman added.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
13/18An overview shows fields and homes along the Indus River before flooding, in Rojhan on March 24.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
14/18The same location showing the Indus River during flooding on August 28.
Pakistan's meteorological office says the country as a whole had been deluged with twice the usual monsoon rainfall, but Balochistan and Sindh provinces had seen more than four times the average of the last three decades.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
15/18The disaster could not have come at a worse time for Pakistan, where the economy is in free fall and an already struggling population are now lining up to receive food delivered by the Pakistani Army.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
16/18The floods have made Pakistan's already dire need for international assistance worse. The government is attempting to help by compensating individuals who have been impacted, like these women in Sukkur, Sindh Province.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
17/18Woman and children eat food distributed by a charity in Sukkur, Sindh Province.
In the midst of the massive flooding, international aid has started to arrive in Pakistan. On August 28, cargo planes from Turkey and the United Arab Emirates arrived with tents, food, and other supplies.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
18/18Flood victims stand next to their tents in Mehar on August 29.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the world to come to Pakistan's aid as he launched a $160 million appeal to help the tens of millions affected by the disaster. "Let's stop sleepwalking towards the destruction of our planet by climate change. Today, it's Pakistan. Tomorrow, it could be your country," he said.
The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan triggered by "monster monsoons" has surpassed 1,100 people and will lead to economic losses of at least $10 billion, officials in Islamabad said.
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Officials said an estimated 441 children have been included in the overall death toll. The United Nations children's agency (UNICEF) said there was a risk of "many more" child deaths from disease after floods.
Nearly 30 planes carrying humanitarian aid have arrived in Pakistan, including at least nine flights from the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and others from Uzbekistan, China, Turkmenistan, Jordan, and Qatar, along with a train carrying aid supplies from Turkey, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.
A French aircraft transporting relief supplies arrived in Islamabad on September 3 and was met by Abdul Qadir Patel, the minister for national health services.
The U.S. Defense Department (DOD) said its Central Command “is sending an assessment team to Islamabad to determine what potential support DOD can provide...as part of the United States' assistance to the flooding crisis in Pakistan."
Spokesman Colonel Joe Buccino said the decision followed a telephone call on September 1 between Central Command chief General Erik Kurilla and Pakistan's chief of army staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
The Pentagon has long-standing ties with the Pakistani military, but relations between the nations often has turned rocky over a variety of issues, including U.S. claims of Islamabad’s harboring of militants operating in Afghanistan.
Two members of the U.S. Congress were expected to arrive in Pakistan on September 4 to visit the flood-affected areas and meet with officials.
Many international officials and experts have blamed the unprecedented level of monsoon rains and flooding on climate change, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said he will visit Pakistan on September 9.
The UN and Pakistan this week jointly issued an appeal for $160 million in emergency funding to help those affected by the floods.
Pakistani officials have said it will take at least $10 billion and many years for Pakistan to fully recover from the disaster.
With reporting by Radio Mashaal, AP, AFP, and Reuters
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