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UN calls for $160M in emergency aid for Pakistan monsoon floods

UN Secretary-General Guterres says Pakistan’s flooding is a signal to the world to step up action against the climate crisis, while Türkiye sends more planes carrying relief supplies to Karachi.

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Nearly 1,200 people have lost their lives, while more than a million houses have been destroyed or damaged since mid-June, according to the country's National Disaster Management Authority.

The United Nations and Pakistan have issued an appeal for $160 million in emergency funding to help millions affected by record-breaking floods that have killed more than 1,150 people since mid-June.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that Pakistan’s flooding, caused by weeks of unprecedented monsoon rains, were a signal to the world to step up action against the climate crisis.

"Let’s stop sleepwalking toward the destruction of our planet by climate change," he said in a video message to an Islamabad ceremony launching the funding appeal.

"Today, it’s Pakistan. Tomorrow, it could be your country."

The most destructive monsoon spells in Pakistan's recent history, combined with raging floods, have ripped away mountainsides, ripped building foundations off, and inundated over 70 districts, turning them into inland rivers.

Constant rains and raging floods have also destroyed a large chunk of the country's infrastructure and agricultural lands, including hundreds of roads and bridges, and washed away nearly a million animals.

According to the meteorological department, the South Asian country, which is among the top 10 nations in the world vulnerable to the climate crisis, has received over 200 percent more rains this year than average monsoon showers.

The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids. More than 1000 people have been killed - with millions more lives shattered.

This colossal crisis requires urgent, collective action to help the Government & people of Pakistan in their hour of need. pic.twitter.com/aVFFy4Irwa
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 30, 2022

Türkiye sends further aid

Two more Turkish planes carrying tents, rations, medicines, and other relief supplies for flood victims in Pakistan landed in Karachi on Tuesday.

With the latest arrivals, a total of six aircrafts loaded with relief items from Türkiye have landed in Karachi over the past three days, said Cemal Sagnu, the Turkish Consul General in Karachi.

He told Anadolu Agency that another two Turkish planes are expected to arrive at Karachi's Mohammad Ali Jinnah airport later Tuesday evening.

Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) is set to establish a tent village in the Badin district of southern Sindh province for 400 affected families, complete with kitchen and hygiene kits and other facilities.

The Turkish Red Crescent is already on the ground in southwestern Baluchistan, one of the hardest-hit provinces, providing clean water and food to thousands of flood-affected people.