Web Desk (LTN NEWS): On August 30, the UN will launch a “Flash Appeal” at the same time in Geneva and Islamabad. This is because Pakistan has been hit by devastating floods caused by rains that have never happened before.
Friday, Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar confirmed at a weekly news briefing that the UN was going to ask for help from all over the world to help people affected by massive flooding.
Pakistan’s leaders were slow to act at first, but the latest news from the affected areas shows that the damage from the current floods is much worse than the damage caused by the super floods in 2010.
“This is a very hard time for Pakistan, as unprecedented rains and floods have caused a lot of damage in many places, especially in Sindh and Balochistan,” the spokesperson said
He said that the government declared a state of emergency because so many lives, homes, buildings, animals, and ways of making a living had been lost. “Millions of people were thrown out of their homes.”
“This has hurt about 33 million people. Nearly a thousand people have died. Rescue and aid operations are hard because infrastructure has been washed away “Asim told the news media.
He said that the federal and provincial governments, as well as the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and its provincial counterparts (PDMAs), the civil administration, and the armed forces, were leading a coordinated humanitarian response, for which all available resources and capacities were being deployed and mobilized.
He also said that there is a National Emergency Operations Center in place and that a National Relief Coordination Committee set up by the prime minister is working under the leadership of the minister for planning.
“The prime minister is in charge of the whole thing. Friday morning, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with a group of Ambassadors to make them aware of how bad the situation is.”
The spokesperson said that the disaster is so big that it needs help and cooperation from the rest of the world right away.
“We’re thankful that the UN, IFIs, and a number of our partners and friendly countries are helping us. A UN Flash Appeal will also be sent out on Tuesday, August 30, at the same time from both Geneva and Islamabad.”
Floods like never before
This week, Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman said that since June, monsoon rains and floods have killed 903 people, including 326 children and 191 women, in different ways. She also said that 1293 people had been hurt. According to the information the minister gave, most of the deaths and injuries happened in Sindh and Balochistan.
In the meantime, the government of Sindh had declared 23 districts of the province to be calamity-hit because of the damage caused by heavy monsoon rains and devastating floods.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked everyone in the country to give money to help the people and infrastructure in flood-damaged areas, where hundreds of people have died and thousands have lost their homes.
The prime minister said that the government was giving cash aid to flood victims in the amount of Rs37.2 billion. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been given Rs5 billion right away to speed up the rescue, relief, and recovery efforts.
Also, the Pakistan Army has started a huge rescue and aid operation in areas where flash floods and heavy rains have caused damage.
