U.S. Military Set To Join Aid Efforts As Pakistan Braces For More Flooding
This aerial photograph taken on August 31 shows flooded residential areas after heavy monsoon rains in the Jaffarabad district of Balochistan Province.
The U.S. military said it was preparing to join international relief efforts in flood-ravaged Pakistan as the death toll from the disaster surged past 1,200 and the country braced for yet more flooding.
The U.S. Defense Department (DOD) on September 2 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 have often turned rocky over a variety of issues, including U.S. claims of Islamabad’s harboring of militants operating in Afghanistan.
The U.S. comments come as planes carrying humanitarian aid arrived in the South Asian nation, with the ninth flight from the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and the first from Uzbekistan the latest to land in Islamabad overnight, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.
Two more planes from the U.A.E and Qatar were expected to arrive later in the day, while a Turkish train carrying relief goods for flood victims was on its way to Pakistan, officials in Ankara said.
Earlier this week, the United Nations appealed for $160 million to help with what it has called an "unprecedented climate catastrophe.”
In a statement on September 2, the UN refugee agency said although the response to the appeal was “very encouraging," more help is needed.
UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh said its teams were distributing tents, blankets, plastic sheets, buckets, and other household items for flood victims.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is due to visit Pakistan on September 9 to tour flood-hit areas and meet with officials.
Rescue workers -- supported by military helicopters and boats -- were scrambling to evacuate millions of people from remote villages in southern Pakistan on September 2.
Almost 20,000 cubic meters of water per second is now flowing downstream from the country’s north and will shortly reach major cities in Sindh, the Disaster Management Agency said. Sindh has been the worst-hit province in a series of floods that have occurred since mid-June.
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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"We are trying to reach people who are still in the middle of water without food and shelter," Rustam Jamali, a Sindh rescue worker told the dpa news agency.
Health experts have warned about possible outbreaks of infectious diseases and other illnesses in flood-affected areas. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the floods have damaged at least 888 medical facilities, hampering the country’s response to health crises in the aftermath of the disaster.
The government says more than 33 million people -- or 15 percent of the 220 million population -- have been affected by the floods. Some estimates say one-third of the country is currently under water.
RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal is a public-service broadcaster providing a powerful alternative to extremist propaganda in Pakistan's remote tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan.
