The Minister of Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, who on Wednesday spoke of a disaster of “rare magnitude”, announced a state of emergency on Friday and appealed for international assistance.
Summer monsoons are a seasonal rainfall phenomenon that affects various countries in the Asian continent, including Pakistan. The rains last throughout the summer, often until September.
Since June, Pakistan has been affected by unusually heavy monsoon rains. More than 900 people have been killed and 33 million people have been “severely affected” by the flooding caused by the rains.
Monster floods have killed more than 900 people and affected more than 33 million people, the government announced Friday.
Nearly 220,000 homes have been completely destroyed, and 500,000 severely damaged, the national disaster management agency said.
There are numerous videos showing the extent of the phenomenon and the heavy flooding that accompanied it. Videos posted on social networks on Friday showed buildings, installed near rivers in flood, and bridges destroyed by the floods. The regions of Balochistan (West) and Sindh (South) are the most affected, although the torrential rains have affected almost the entire country.
EU allocates €1.8 million in humanitarian assistance for flood victims
The EU is providing €1,800,000 humanitarian aid to families affected by flash floods across large parts of Pakistan. The aid funding will assist affected people in some of the hardest-hit districts of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: “Unusually heavy monsoon rains led to deadly flash floods in Pakistan. While the assessment on the ground is ongoing, we expect more than one million people having lost their homes and in need of direct assistance. The EU contribution underlines our commitment to the people of Pakistan and enables our partners to provide life-saving aid to those most affected.”
The funding is allocated to EU humanitarian partners operating on the ground to meet immediate needs of flood stricken families, including through the provision of temporary emergency shelter, food and clean water, cash transfers and primary healthcare services. This latest funding comes in addition to last week’s allocation of €350,000 in aid to help people in Pakistan’s flood-affected province of Balochistan.
