Islamabad August 31, : The number of deaths in the devastating floods in Pakistan has risen by 1,162 deaths as the cash-strapped nation struggles to provide relief and assistance for the millions of people displaced by flooding waters.The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) declared the victims to include 384 children as well as 231 women and death tolls are expected rise in the coming days, the dpa news agency reported on Wednesday.
A staggering 33 million inhabitants in the of 116 of the 160 administrative districts in Pakistan were affected by floods brought on by the constant rains that have been gushing down since mid-June with at least 72 districts having been declared disaster zones.
Many hundreds of thousands of people are living without food shelter, clean water, and basic medications.
The floods flooded more than two million acres of agricultural land, degrading crops of rice, cotton dates, tomato chilli, and many other crops.
On Tuesday the UN issued a quick appeal to provide $160 million in emergency aid to Pakistan.
“Pakistan is in a state of utter despair in the midst of suffering,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who is scheduled to visit Pakistan next week announced in an audio message during the official launch of the appeal.
Then the Premier Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged the developed world to not leave countries such as Pakistan which are responsible for less than one percent of carbon emissions in the world and is at the at the mercy of the climate change.
“If it’s us today, it could be someone else tomorrow.The threat of climate change is real powerful and staring us in the face,”” Sharif tweeted.
According the Pakistan’s planning minister the flooding has already caused approximately $10 billion in economic losses which has struggled due to high current account deficits and fiscal deficits and constant energy shortages.
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