ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is preparing a flood relief package to assist Pakistan, stricken by devastating floods.
The ADB announced in a press release that it will contribute to money for relief efforts in the nation’s flood-affected regions.
The bank will help the underprivileged, sick mothers, and children who were affected by flooding.
According to the statement, the ADB will support farmers who lost crops and give assistance in agricultural production to help them get back on their feet.
The lender will also provide funds for rebuilding of roads, bridges and other infrastructure destroyed in flood. It will also extend support for reconstruction of damaged houses, schools, hospitals and other amenity buildings.
In a recent analysis, the ADB listed Pakistan as one of the high-risk nations most likely to experience natural catastrophes, noting that each year the nation suffers losses from natural disasters of US$2 billion.
According to the ADB analysis, floods have caused more damage than earthquakes in Pakistan, where on average 863 people each year are killed by natural disasters.
Following the destruction of the harvest, homes, and other infrastructure by floods, natural disasters have intensified poverty in the nation. In Pakistan, there are only a few options for harvest insurance, and only 272,000 farmers have taken use of them.
It highlighted that floods further devastate underprivileged districts, increasing poverty level in those areas. The report shared that most of the people below poverty line lives in Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
To prevent damage from floods and earthquakes, the research recommended expanding the disaster risk management method. It claimed that Pakistan’s responses to earthquakes and floods were inadequate.
