At least 26 more killed by severe flooding in Pakistan in the last 24 hours

There are already 1,290 deaths from monsoon rains since last June 14

4 (EUROPE PRESS)

At least 26 people have died and eleven have been injured in the last 24 hours due to the serious floods that affect Pakistan, with which there are already 1,290 deaths during the monsoon season, according to the latest balance published this Sunday by the Center National Flood Response Coordination of Pakistan.

In addition, a total of 80 districts have been declared as catastrophic areas due to flooding, including 31 in Baluchistan, 23 in Sindh, 17 in Khyber Pakhtunjua, six in Gilgit-Baltistan and three in Punjab.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Office has reported that in the northern regions of the country the rains will continue for the next three or four days, according to the Pakistani newspaper ‘Dawn’. In Sindh, Baluchistan and southern Punjab hot and humid weather will prevail.

The flow has grown so much that this Sunday the emergency opening of the Manchar dam on the Indus River, the largest in the country, has been announced as a precautionary measure and to thus avoid a possible breakage.

On Friday, authorities reported more than 1,200 deaths due to heavy rains that have cost the country’s economy more than $10 billion.

The storm has affected 33 million people and has caused damage to more than a million homes. The recovery in the affected areas indicates that it will be slow due to the problems to dislodge the water.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has already warned of the serious risk posed by water-related infectious diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever.

This same Sunday, the Pakistani Minister of Health, Azra Pechuho, has reported that 134,000 cases of diarrhea and 44,000 of malaria have been recorded in the province of Sindh. In addition, she has indicated that there are 47,000 pregnant women in the refugee camps for displaced people in the province, according to Geo TV.

UNICEF RESPONSE

Faced with this situation, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has delivered this Sunday 32 tons of medical supplies and other emergency materials to help children and women affected by the “devastating” floods in Pakistan.

The shipment has arrived in Karachi from UNICEF’s Supply Division in Copenhagen and includes medicines, medical supplies, water purification tablets, safe delivery kits and therapeutic nutritional supplements. UNICEF has delivered these supplies to the government of Pakistan, represented by the Ministry of Health and Population Welfare of Sindh province and “they will be delivered immediately to children and families who need them most in some of the 72 districts most affected”.

“The floods have left children and families out in the open without being able to meet their basic needs,” said Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan. “This shipment is essential and it will save lives, but it is just a drop in the ocean of what is required,” he said.

“The risk of an outbreak of waterborne diseases, such as cholera, diarrhoea, dengue fever and malaria, continues to increase every day, as the population is forced to drink contaminated water and practice open defecation. The dangers of mosquitoes, snake bites, skin and respiratory diseases are also increasing. We urgently need support to help children who are struggling to survive.”

A second shipment of 34 tons of humanitarian supplies is expected to arrive on Tuesday with drugs to treat parasitic infections, resuscitation and sterilization kits, micronutrients for pregnant women, educational materials and recreational kits to help children cope with trauma.