Pakistan
Massive relief effort under way in Pakistan as flood death toll mounts
A huge relief operation was under way Monday and international aid began trickling in as Pak struggled to deal with monsoon flooding that has killed more than 1,000 people and affected more than 33 million in the South Asian nation.
Officials said 1,136 people have died in Pak since June when the seasonal rains began, but the final flood death toll could be higher as hundreds of villages in the mountainous north have been cut off by flood-swollen rivers washing away roads and bridges.
The first aid flights began arriving on Sunday, from Turkey and the UAE.
The annual monsoon is essential for irrigating crops and replenishing lakes and dams across the Indian subcontinent, but it can also bring destruction.
Officials said this year’s flooding has affected more than 33 million people – one in seven Pakistanis – destroying or badly damaging nearly a million homes.
Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman called it “the monster monsoon of the decade”.
This year’s floods are comparable to 2010’s – the worst on record – when more than 2,000 people died and nearly a fifth of the country was underwater.
