Islamabad: Pakistan’s devastating floods have killed nearly 1,300 people in the country while relief operations continue. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Saturday that the death toll since June has risen to 1,290 with 29 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s government agencies and private NGOs have described their relief operations as a “humanitarian disaster of epic proportions”.
Large parts of the country remain submerged – especially the provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh in the south. According to Geo News reports, at least 180 people have been killed in Sindh, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (138) and Balochistan (125).
At least 1,468,019 houses have been partially or completely damaged, while 736,459 livestock have been killed due to the floods.
Aid has been received from several countries with the first humanitarian aid flight from France landing in Islamabad on Saturday morning, Geo News reported. The damage is initially estimated at US$10 billion, but is still under survey. international organization.
Federal Minister of Poverty Alleviation and Social Security Shazia Mari said that so far 723,919 families have received 25,000 cash relief (per family) and an amount of Rs 18.25 billion has been disbursed.
“Despite the challenges, the Benazir Income Support Program commenced operations shortly after the announcement by the Prime Minister (Shahbaz Sharif),” he wrote on Twitter.
Earlier today, at a press conference with military officials at the National Flood Response and Coordination Centre, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal called on the international community to support Pakistan and assured the nation that the government – backed by its office bearers – would leave According to the report of Geo News, no stone has been left unturned to bring back normalcy at the earliest.
Due to internal displacement, more than 500,000 people are currently living in relief camps in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Punjab.
Highlighting the effects of climate change at a high-level meeting, the disaster management chief said floods have affected a third of the country – affecting more than 33 million people – before four heatwaves and several raging wildfires Were. South Asian nation.