Web desk (LTN NEWS): National Flood Response Coordination Centre (NFRCC), which was set up by the government to handle the ongoing floods, held its first official meeting on Saturday in the federal capital.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal told the press after the NFRCC meeting that Pakistan was facing the worst damage caused by weather in recent world history, with 33 million people being affected by the floods.
“This loss is big compared to our resources, but we’re also making a big commitment,” he said.
He talked about how bad the damage was all over the country and said that some places got 1,500 mm of rain compared to the average of 20–30 mm in previous years. He also said that South Punjab, Dir, Nowshera, and Charsadda were hit hard.
“More than a million homes were damaged, and about 5,000 kilometers of roads were destroyed. About two weeks ago, 14 major highways that connected the country’s main logistics hubs were cut off.”
Ahsan said that “the Pakistani military and other organizations worked together to fix some of the highways, and that the rest would also be fixed in the coming days.”
Ahsan said about the situation in Sindh that the water was draining slowly and that 230 people had died there.
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So far, 69 of the 81 submerged grid stations have been fixed, and 758 of the 881 damaged feeders have been fixed. He said that work was still being done on the other 123.
“2,900 of the 3,500 affected cell phone towers have been fixed,” said the planning minister. He also said that the Prime Minister had told the other 600 towers to be fixed soon.
Ahsan also said that “the armed forces, the government, and civil society would all work together with the response center.”
Chairman of the NDMA Lieutenant General Akhtar Nawaz pointed out that the weather service predicted 20–25% more rain in the country, but Pakistan actually got more than 190% of its usual amount of rain.
“These rains used to happen in Kashmir, North and Central Punjab, but this time there were heavy rains in Southern K-P, Punjab, DG Khan, Rajanpur, and Sindh,” he said.
So far, the floods have killed 1,265 people, most of whom were children, according to the head of the NDMA.
Gen Nawaz said that “the floods also caused damage to 5,563 km of roads, destroyed 1.4 million homes, and washed away 735,000 cattle.”
“A federal committee with a lot of power was set up to help, and when the situation became clear, a national emergency was declared,” he said.
“As part of the relief efforts, Rs25,000 was given to each household, and 57,400 90-kilogram food packages were given to the people who had been hurt”, he said.
The head of the disaster management agency also said that flights with food from Turkey, China, and France had arrived, and that Turkey would send 98 tons of dry fruits, boats, and medicine.
