UN: Floods hitting Pakistan worst in more than a decade

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday made a $160 million appeal for flood-ravaged Pakistan, where more than 1,100 people died and another 33 million were impacted in one of the worst seasons. monsoon in more than a decade.

The appeal comes as Pakistani officials said the floods had already caused more than $10 billion in damage and called for more international assistance.

“The Pakistani people are facing a steroid monsoon – the relentless impact of historic levels of rain and flooding,” Guterres said at the launch of the appeal for financial aid to the country.

“As we continue to see more and more extreme weather events across the world, it is outrageous that climate action is being put on the back burner as global greenhouse gas emissions are still rising, putting all of us, in everyone places, in increasing danger,” he said.

“Let’s stop sleepwalking towards the destruction of our planet by climate change,” he said.

Today, it’s Pakistan. Tomorrow, it could be your country.

said Antonio Guterres

Images of water gushing through the streets, swallowing villages and destroying bridges serve as a stark reminder of the inequalities of the climate crisis, which disproportionately affects the developing world. And the richest countries also have a much greater historical responsibility for the crisis.

Pakistan was ranked last year as the eighth country most affected by climate change from 2000 to 2019 in the non-profit group Germanwatch’s Global Climate Risk Index.

People living in places like South Asia are 15 times more likely to die from the impacts of the climate crisis.

“This is a climate crisis,” Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF representative in Pakistan, told CNN . “A climate that has mostly been made by wealthier countries contributing to the crisis, and I think it’s time for the world to respond to support Pakistan in this time of need.”

The deadly floods threaten to engulf up to a third of the nation by the end of the monsoon season, taking a high toll on lives but also infrastructure, as well as wreaking havoc on crops on farmland in the midst of a food crisis.

On Monday (29), the country’s Planning Minister, Ahsan Iqbal, revealed the estimated cost of US$ 10 billion to the country, telling the CNN that the “world needs to help Pakistan to deal with the effects of climate change”.

In a statement, IRC Pakistan director Shabnam Baloch said the country produced less than 1% of the world’s carbon footprint.

The lack of hygiene facilities and clean water has exacerbated the risk of disease spreading in flooded areas, with nearly 20,000 people in need of essential food supplies and medical support, Baloch added.

“Our needs assessment showed that we are already seeing a huge increase in cases of diarrhea, skin infections, malaria and other illnesses,” she said. “We are urgently asking donors to step up their support and help us save lives.”

A third of Pakistan could soon be under water

In a statement released on Tuesday, Pakistan’s military said rescue missions were underway and international aid was starting to arrive in the country, including seven military aircraft from Turkey and three from the United Arab Emirates.

Helicopters evacuated more than 300 trapped people and distributed more than 23 tons of relief items, while more than 50 medical camps were established with more than 33,000 patients being treated, the statement said.

Also on Tuesday, China will send two aircraft with 3,000 tents and Japan will send tarpaulins and shelter, the statement said, adding that the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Azerbaijan had announced financial assistance.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided assistance on Monday, releasing $1.17 billion in rescue funds to avoid a default on the South Asian country’s debt obligations as it faces political and economic turmoil compounded by unprecedented flooding.

Peter Ophoff, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Pakistan, told CNN who has seen nothing on the scale of these floods in nearly three decades working for the relief agency. The country was, however, hit by equally devastating floods in 2010.

“Pakistan is in dire need and the damage is here and we will be in this for a long time,” Ophoff said. “It’s not months, but years we’re talking.”

The 33 million people impacted by the floods and rains represent 15% of the country’s population.

Among the 1,136 people killed since mid-June were 386 children, the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) said on Monday, as relentless rain raised fears of more deaths to come. Nearly half a million homes were destroyed, according to the NDMA.

“When this is over, we could have a quarter or a third of Pakistan under water,” Pakistan’s climate change minister Sherry Rehman told Turkish news agency TRT World last week.

‘Water gushed in’

Dramatic scenes took place in Pakistan when floods hit the country.

“It was raining, but not a lot,” Ali Jan told Reuters on Monday, surrounded by water in Chadsadda, northern Pakistan. But that quickly changed.

“Suddenly, the outer wall of the complex collapsed and water gushed out,” Jan said. “We barely managed to save ourselves. When the women were leaving the house, the water was up to their waists. We evacuate the women and livestock. The rest is there for you to see. The crops were also destroyed.”

In videos shared by the Alkhidmat Pakistan Foundation, its volunteers used a bed frame and a makeshift pulley system to help a child and an elderly man navigate floodwaters, according to the NGO’s digital media manager Ihtisham Khaliq. Waser.

More than 3,000 NGO volunteers are distributing aid across the country, he said.

“We’re getting help, but it’s not enough with what we need on the ground because the damage is much greater than expected,” he said, adding that volunteer teams have been overwhelmed delivering supplies to hard-to-reach areas for weeks.

Waseer said he hopes that as rains weaken and floodwaters recede next week, based on weather forecasts, his team will be able to deliver food and establish medical centers in remote areas of Pakistan.

*With additional information from Reuters