Authorities are scrambling to evacuate people from the flooded areas of Sindh as meteorological department said moderate to heavy rainfall are expected in multiple districts of the province in the next 24 to 72 hours [File: Fareed Khan/AP Photo]
Islamabad, September 14 (RHC)-- The death toll from the catastrophic flooding in Pakistan has crossed 1,400, as forecast of more rains in parts of the worst-affected southern Sindh province are causing fears of more flooding.
Authorities are scrambling to evacuate people from the flooded areas of Sindh as meteorological department said moderate to heavy rainfall are expected in multiple districts of the province in the next 24 to 72 hours. At least 638 people have died in the province, including 274 children.
About a third of Pakistan is submerged by melting glaciers and record monsoon rains that began in June, affecting more than 33 million people. The government revised its initial estimate of losses from the devastating flooding from $10 billion to $30 billion last week.
Close to a million people have been rendered homeless, many of them sleeping in the open on highways and higher planes. Pakistan’s government is warning it could take up to six months for floodwaters to recede and public health officials are warning of the growing threat of waterborne diseases like cholera and dengue.
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s Army raced to shore up flood defenses at a major power station in the southern province of Sindh, which supplies electricity to millions of people. Nearby, a major dust storm uprooted hundreds of tents at a camp for people recently made homeless by the climate disaster.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who visited the flood-ravaged South Asian nation, said he has “never seen climate carnage” on such a scale. “I have seen many humanitarian disasters in the world, but I have simply no words to describe what I have seen here in Pakistan.”
The UN has already launched an urgent appeal to raise $160 million to help Pakistan, while several countries and global institutions have pledged support to Pakistan. Officials have said more than 50 special flights carrying aid have arrived in the country and more are scheduled in the coming days.
