50,000 people rescued from Pakistan floods

 Pakistani forces rescued another 2,000 people from the sea level, which flooded a third of the country.

This brings nearly 50,000 people to help since rescue operations began. Navy ships are carrying out relief efforts in waters three times the size of the island of Ireland.

Record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in the northern mountains have caused floods that have killed more than 1,200 people, more than a third of them children, the Fire Department said. The United Nations has called for $160 million in aid to prevent an "unprecedented climate catastrophe."

UNICEF warned that more children could die from the disease. "High risk" of fatal diseases.

Abdullah Fadil, head of UNICEF in Pakistan, told a news conference in Geneva that "there is a high risk of water-borne, fast-spreading and deadly diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, dengue and malaria".

The navy airlifted more than 150 people from the village of Dadu in northeastern Sindh, one of the worst-hit areas. According to local resident Bashir Khan, some villages were less than 3.35 meters deep.

"My house is under water and I left the house with my family four days ago," he said. More humanitarian flights are arriving today from countries in the Middle East.

Forecasters expect more rain and flooding in September and warn that the southern region is braced for a surge in power from the Indus River. As more pregnant women and mothers migrate to the sea, calls have been made for relief camps to accommodate additional doctors and health workers to ensure adequate care.

local food security

The director of the UN World Food Program (WFP) in Pakistan said the flooding could also disrupt aid efforts in nearby Afghanistan, given Afghanistan's role as a major travel route. "The floods in Pakistan will seriously undermine its capabilities," said Chris Kay. "We are very concerned about the overall food security (in the region)."

 

Read more: https://www.rte.ie/news/2022/0902/1320226-pakistan-floods-rescues/