Aid organizations warn of the risk of disease spreading in the country due to the lack of drinking water.
The death toll from the devastating floods in Pakistan rose further on Saturday, with 57 more deaths, 25 of them children, as aid groups warned of the risk of disease spread in the country due to the lack of drinking water.
The coordination group set up to organize relief and relief efforts for the affected met yesterday for the first time in Islamabad, led by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif.
Record monsoon rainfall and melting glaciers in the mountains of northern Pakistan have caused widespread flooding in the country, affecting 33 million people and killing at least 1,265 people, including 441 children. A third of the country was underwater, while about 1.4 million homes were destroyed, as well as roads, bridges and other infrastructure. The damage to the crops is also serious, with half of them destroyed.
The high proportion of children who lost their lives, with at least a third of the victims estimated to be children, raises serious concerns.
On Friday, Unicef ​​announced that more children are now at risk of dying in Pakistan due to a lack of clean, potable water.
“There is now a great risk that deadly water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dengue and malaria will spread rapidly,” stated the Abdullah Fadil of Unicef. “Consequently there is a risk that many more children will die.”
And Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that access to clean water is the biggest problem for those affected who are looking for food and shelter.
Before the devastating floods, Pakistan was hit by four heat waves and several forest fires, the head of disaster management said during the coordination group meeting, underscoring the effects of climate change in the south Asian country.
“2022 has brought Pakistan face to face with some harsh truths about climate change,” pointed out Akhtar Nawaz. “This year we didn’t experience spring, we faced four heat waves which caused major forest fires across the country,” he added.
These fires were particularly fierce in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, destroying vast areas of pine trees not far from the areas now under water.
Balochistan has received 436% more rain than the average monsoon season over the past 30 years.
In this province the devastation is widespread, with the railway network and many roads severely damaged, while telecommunications and electricity have been disrupted.
Pakistan received 190% more rain than the 30-year average, reaching 390.7 millimeters. Sindh province, home to 50 million people, was hardest hit, with 464% more rain than the thirty-year average.
Aid has been sent to the country from various states, with the former flight carrying humanitarian aid from France landing yesterday Saturday morning in Islamabad. But Pakistan’s biggest aid organization pointed out that there are still millions of people who have not been helped.
The Minister of Planning and Development of Pakistan, Mr Ahsan Iqbal, he said the country lacks the resources to deal with the unprecedented crisis, stressing that the floods are the worst disaster in recent world history caused by climate change.
Initially the cost of damages was estimated at 10 billion dollars, but they are still being assessed in cooperation with international organizations.
RES-EMP
Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a vast amount of experience in covering health news. I am also an author at News Bulletin 247. I am highly experienced and knowledgeable in this field. I am a hard worker and always deliver quality work. I am a reliable source of information and always provide accurate information.
