News / Pakistan

Pakistan floods have affected over 30 million people: Official

Thursday, 25 August 2022 6:02 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 25 August 2022 6:02 PM ]

People retrieve bamboos from a damaged house following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Dera Allah Yar, Jafferabad, Balochistan, Pakistan, August 25, 2022. (Photo by Reuters)

Pakistan's climate change minister says record monsoon rains and ensuing flooding have affected more than 30 million people across the country.

"33 million have been affected, in different ways; the final homeless figure is being assessed," Sherry Rehman said on Thursday.

She said the southern province of Sindh, hardest hit in the past few days, had requested 1 million tents for the affected people. "South of Pakistan is inundated almost underwater. ... People are going to higher ground."

Sindh and Balochistan are the two most affected provinces in terms of human and infrastructural impact.

Pakistan has struggled to cope with the aftermath of the torrential rains that have triggered massive floods, killing more than 900 people since last month.

"Needs assessment is being done, we have to make UN’s international flash appeal; this is not the task of one country or one province, it is a climate-induced disaster," the minister said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday 184,000 people had been displaced.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in a report that in 24 hours, 150 kilometers of road had been damaged and over 82,000 homes had been partially or fully affected. Since mid-June, when the monsoon began, over 3,000 kilometers of road, 130 bridges and 495,000 homes have been damaged, according to a last situation report by the disaster management authority.

Funding and reconstruction efforts will be a challenge for cash-strapped Pakistan. The International Monetary Fund’s executive board will meet on August 29 to approve a bailout package for the country within this month.

People clean up damaged homes after heavy flood in the Khushi district of Logar, Afghanistan, August 21, 2022. (Photo by Reuters)

Over 180 killed by floods in Afghanistan

Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesman said Thursday that more than 180 people had been killed and 3,000 homes destroyed by floods in Afghanistan over the past month. “If the floods and the losses increase, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan does not have that many resources to respond to all of it,” Zabihullah Mujahid said at a press briefing in Kabul. The spokesman called on the Muslim countries to help the government meet the needs of flood victims.

Heavy rains have lashed several provinces, with the worst of the flooding in eastern Afghanistan.

Dozens of Afghans die every year in torrential rains, especially in poor rural areas where badly constructed houses can easily collapse.

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