More than six million people have been affected since the unusually heavy monsoon rains began at the end of June, with almost 1,000 lost lives, 250 of them children.
Around 2.5 million people have been displaced, many of those who take refuge in camps administered by the Government or with host families that are already stretched to their limit.
“From the field, we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg,Carlos Geha, head of the UN Coordination Office (Ocha) in Pakistan, told Islamabad’s UN News.
He added that many displaced families have not yet returned home and can find their houses and annihilated livelihoods when water levels finally go back.
Banket of Pakistan underwater
Exacerbating the flood of the monsoon, the river floods have flooded large parts of the province of Punjab, the Pakistan food basket, where more than 4.7 million people have been affected after India released the water from the upstream dams, which leads the rivers to explode its shores.
The Indian authorities had informed Pakistan before the launch, which was caused by mass rains that caused rivers in northern India to overflow.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1.6 million people have been affected, while sudden floods caused by the overflows of the glacial lake have devastated parts of Gilgit-Baltistan, cutting entire valleys. The province of Sindh remains on a maximum alert for possible “super floods.”
“The government has done a tremendous job evacuating 2.5 million people, something we did not see in 2022,” said Geha, remembering the devastating floods that killed more than 1,700 people and caused an estimate of $ 40 billion in economic losses.
“But when water levels reach 25 feet, swallowing whole peoples, there is little that someone can do.”
Aerial view that shows the devastation caused by floods in the Jhang district in Punjab, the most populous province of Pakistan.
Missing crops, lost infrastructure
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reports that more than 8,400 houses, 239 bridges and almost 700 kilometers of roads have been damaged or destroyed.
More than 2.2 million hectares of farmland, much in Punjab, are under water, eliminating crops and raising food prices. Wheat flour prices only increased 25 percent in the first week of September.
“These are agricultural families that feed the nation,“Mr. Geha said.” Now his land is submerged, his animals have gone and have nothing. “
Under voltage help efforts
The UN and its partners are struggling to match the disaster scale. Ocha has launched $ 5 million from the UN Emergency Response Fund (CERF), with additional $ 1.5 million channeled to local NGOs.
UNICEF, PMA and other agencies are safe transport water, providing health and nutrition supplies, and establishing temporary learning centers for children.
However, humanitarian workers warn that this is far from sufficient. Many communities remain interrupted by the collapsed bridges and submerged roads, with food and medications that reach them only by boat or helicopter.
Diseases transmitted by water, such as malaria and dengue, are already increasing, with cholera outbreak fears in the coming weeks.
“Immediate needs are food, medical care, shelter, water and sanitation,” Geha said. “But The next phase will be even more difficult: to help millions of people go back after losing everything.“
A UNICEF staff member distributes hygiene kits and water purification tablets to families affected by floods in the Jhang district, Punjab.
A call to solidarity
Pakistan has endured repeated climatic disasters in recent years, from the record floods of 2022 to heat and drought waves. Humanitarians warn that each shock pushes families already vulnerable to poverty.
“This is not Pakistan’s fault: it is one of the countries most exposed to climate change,” Geha emphasized.
“The international community must be with Pakistan not only in this emergency, but also to help rebuild resilience and restore long -term livelihood.“