Floods In Pakistan Affacted More Than 30 million; Minister Says

Heavy rain has pounded large areas of Pakistan as the government declared an emergency to deal with monsoon flooding it said had affected more than 30 million people. The annual monsoon is essential for irrigating crops and replenishing lakes and dams across the Indian subcontinent, but each year it also brings a wave of destruction. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Friday that more than 900 people had been killed this year – including 34 in the previous 24 hours – as a result of the monsoon rains that began in June. Officials say this year’s floods are comparable to 2010 – the worst on record – when more than 2,000 people died and nearly a fifth of the country was underwater.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif asked for international help in battling the damage on Friday, as rescuers struggled to evacuate thousands of marooned people.The appeal came as exceptionally heavy rain continued lashing Pakistan, with the death toll hitting 937 since mid-June, more than a third of them children.“The ongoing rain spell has caused devastation across the country,” he tweeted, thanking other countries and groups for their support. “Together we will build back better.”

In a news conference on Thursday, Rehman described the floods as a “humanitarian disaster of epic proportions” that had left thousands without food and shelter.

“33 million have been affected, in different ways; the final homeless figure is being assessed,” Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman told Reuters in a text message. She added that the southern province of Sindh, hardest hit in the last few days, had requested 1 million tents for affected people. “South of Pakistan is inundated almost underwater. … People are going to higher ground,” she said. “Needs assessment is being done, we have to make U.N.’s international flash appeal; this is not the task of one country or one province, it is a climate-induced disaster,” she added. “We need to ask not just the provinces and Islamabad, it is beyond the capacity of any one administration or government to rehabilitate and even manage the rescue and relief,” she added.

U.N. agency Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update on Thursday that the monsoon rains had affected some 3 million people in Pakistan of which 184,000 have been displaced to relief camps across the country. Floods have damaged 170,000 homes, washed away roads and destroyed nearly 150 bridges, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Although floodwaters receded in some areas, the situation worsened in Sindh province, where rescue workers were using boats to evacuate people. Thousands of flood-affected people were living in makeshift homes and tents.