Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal called for a “massive humanitarian response for 33 million people” affected by monsoon rains that caused the floods. The request came as planes flew supplies to the impoverished country via a humanitarian airlift. International attention to Pakistan’s plight has grown as the death toll and the homeless have risen. According to initial government estimates, the rain and flooding have caused $10 billion in damage. Children line up for relief after heavy rain in Jaffarabad, a district in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province [Arshad Butt/AP Photo] “The scale of the disaster is enormous and requires a massive humanitarian response for 33 million people. Therefore, I appeal to my fellow Pakistanis, Pakistani expatriates and the international community to help Pakistan in this hour of need,” he said at a press conference on Saturday. Many officials and experts have blamed the unusual monsoon rains and floods on climate change, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who earlier this week called on the world to stop “sleepwalking” into the deadly crisis. He will visit Pakistan on September 9 to tour flood-affected areas and meet officials. Earlier this week, the UN and Pakistan issued a joint appeal for $160 million in emergency funding to help the millions of people affected by the floods, which have damaged more than a million homes. Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in its latest report on Saturday, counted 57 more deaths from flood-hit areas. That brought the total death toll from monsoon rains that began in mid-June to 1,265, including 441 children. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s earlier appeal for help received a swift response from the international community, which sent planes loaded with relief supplies. Houses are surrounded by flood waters in Jaffarabad [Arshad Butt/AP Photo] A French aircraft carrying relief goods landed in Islamabad on Saturday and was received by National Health Services Minister Abdul Qadir Patel. The arrival of this French plane followed the ninth flight from the United Arab Emirates and the first from Uzbekistan. These flights were the last to land in Islamabad overnight. Patel said the aid goods sent by France included medicine and large dewatering pumps to reduce water levels. He said France had also sent a team of doctors and experts. Pakistan has established a National Flood Response and Coordination Center to distribute aid to the affected population. Iqbal supervises the center under the army. The minister said that rains in this monsoon season have hit most areas of Balochistan and Sindh provinces, as well as parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces. Gilgit-Baltistan region was also affected. Torrential rains and subsequent flash floods caused massive damage to infrastructure, roads, electricity and communication networks. Iqbal said that the government is working to restore order in the country as soon as possible, but that the Pakistani government cannot do it alone. Major General Zafar Iqbal, head of the flood response center, told a press conference that in the past four days, 29 planes loaded with relief goods have arrived in Pakistan from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, China, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Turkmenistan and other countries. A family searches for belongings from their flooded home after heavy rain in Shikarpur district of Sindh province [Fareed Khan/AP Photo] Military spokesman Lt. Gen. Iftikhar Babar said rescuers backed by the military were continuing rescue and relief operations. He said the Air Force, Air Force and Marines were using boats and helicopters to evacuate people from remote areas and deliver aid. Babar said the army has set up 147 relief camps housing and feeding more than 50,000 displaced people, while 250 medical camps have provided assistance to 83,000 people so far. Health officials have expressed concern about the spread of water-borne diseases among displaced people living in relief camps and roadside tents. NDMA chief Lt. Gen. Akhtar Nawaz said that areas of the country expected to receive 15-20 percent additional rainfall this year actually received over 400 percent more. Collectively, the country has seen 190 percent more rain this monsoon season. The US military’s Central Command said it would send an assessment team to Islamabad to see what support it could provide. The United States announced $30 million in aid for flood victims earlier this week. Two members of Congress, Sheila Jackson and Tom Suzy, were expected to arrive in Pakistan on Sunday to visit flood-affected areas and meet with officials.
