The toll due to floods in Pakistan reached 1,033 on Sunday, Dawn reported. Out of these, 119 people were killed in the last 24 hours.
According to the country’s National Disaster Management Authority, the toll includes 348 children and 207 women, who have died since June 14 in rain-related incidents.
Pakistan received 388.7 mm of rain this year, which is almost three times its national average of 134 mm. In August alone, the country received 166.8 millimetres of rain, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. The increase in rainfall resulted in flash floods across the country.
On Thursday, the country announced a national emergency in the wake of the devastating flood situation.
At least 110 of the 160 Pakistani districts have been hit by the floods, according to Geo News.
Pakistan’s Minister of Climate Change Sherry Rehman said that the country is experiencing one of the most serious catastrophes seen in the decade.
“This season we witnessed a completely unprecedented downpour with the current eighth spell of rainfall when the average is usually four to five, which is why many were unprepared,” Rehman told TRT World. “Our infrastructure is paralysed and people are desperate for shelter and food.”
The government has deployed the Army to help civic authorities in rescue and relief operations across the country.
Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said that the armed forces will help all people in distress, Reuters reported.
Bajwa also said that the Pakistan Army has established 212 relief collection points in Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa areas for those affected by the floods.
International support
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country is providing food and clean water to Pakistan through United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund and Red Cross Canada to provide food.
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed said that his country will immediately dispatch food supplies, medical, pharmaceutical, tents and shelter materials to Pakistan.
The United Kingdom said it is providing up to 1.5 million pounds to help Pakistan deal with the flood situation.
“We are witnessing the catastrophe that climate change can cause and how it impacts the most vulnerable,” Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South and Central Asia, North Africa, UN and the Commonwealth said in a statement. “My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and their families, and I would like to pay tribute to everyone involved in the relief efforts.”
The United States also offered $1 million to Pakistan “to build resilience against natural disasters”, Geo News reported.
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