UN SECRETARY-GENERAL Ban Ki-moon yesterday appealed for further aid for Pakistan as he described the flooding there as the worst disaster he had ever seen.
Humanitarian agencies are concerned that the sluggish response from international donors could seriously hamper efforts to assist the millions displaced by floods which have swept Pakistan for weeks. The deluge has hit one-quarter of the country, including its agricultural heartland. Huge tracts of land remain under water and up to 20 million people are now believed to have been affected. Pakistani officials have warned that more than 30,000 people remain trapped in stricken areas.
“This has been a heart-wrenching day for me,” Ban said after flying over the most devastated regions with President Asif Ali Zardari. “I will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed today. In the past I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this.”
Earlier this month, the UN appealed for an initial $460 million (€360.4 million) towards relief efforts, but so far only 20 per cent has been given. “Waves of flood must be met with waves of support from the world,” said Ban. “I’m here to urge the world to step up assistance.”
Many fear the worst is yet to come, given that the monsoon rains that led to the disaster are forecast to fall for several more weeks. At the weekend, tens of thousands were forced to flee their homes after they were inundated by fresh flooding from the bloated River Indus.
The floods, the worst in Pakistan’s six decades of existence, are expected to have wide-reaching economic and political repercussions. Once the waters recede, reconstruction costs will run into billions. The International Monetary Fund has warned the floods could stymie growth and fuel inflation in what was already a limping economy.
During an address to mark Pakistan’s independence day on Saturday, prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani compared the impact of the floods to the convulsions that accompanied partition from India in 1947.
“The floods affected some 20 million people, destroyed standing crops and food storages worth billions of dollars, causing colossal loss to national economy,” Mr Gilani said.
While aid agencies, including Concern and Trócaire, have provided food, water, shelter and medical treatment in some of the worst-hit areas, the scale of the disaster has proved overwhelming and many victims have received little or no help.