NEWS: PAKISTAN REMAINS FLOODED
Pakistan faces severe devastation, as an estimated third of the country is ‘under water’. The floods, which started during the monsoon season in June, have worsened slowly, until becoming out of control, 3 days ago.
At least 33 million people are said to be in need of desperate help, as their homes and houses, face damage or were destroyed completely, by the floods. 2 million acres of crops and farming areas, have also been destroyed during the Pakistani Floods, and an estimated 700,00+ livestock has been lost.
The DEC or Disaster’s Emergency Committee has created an immediate appeal, to help curtail the crisis, overtaking the appeal for help for the War in Ukraine. The online website has up to date and accurate details of the crisis, as news unfolds and a simple appeal to help raise funds, with options of £30, £50, £100 to help during the catastrophe, similar to donation amounts for other natural disasters such as the Tsunami appeal in Sumatra, Indonesia on 26th December 2004 . The money will be matched by the UK govt, with a stop at the 5 million pound mark. As each pound is donated, the UK will add another pound. The website cites food, clean drinking water and shelter as immediate priorities, and also surfaces the importance of urgent medical assistance and aid needed.
As the epidemic gains assistance, further outbreaks threaten Pakistani nationals during the crisis. A new epidemic is rife, with ‘waterbourne diseases‘ spreading during the floods. The main threat for people is a new spread of Cholera, which can be lethal if left untreated.
The floods, which have been described in the press as ‘historic’, are unprecedented. With areas as north as Kashmir, Balochistan, Punjab, and worst of all the Sindh needing urgent help and assistance, nearly half of the country. Despite nearly all of Pakistan being swept under severe flooding, the press have not highlighted the pressure the country is facing or the help and assistance needed during the crisis.
Crisis-hit Pakistan has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over $3bn (£2.4bn) of funding.
The deal, which still needs to be approved by the global lender's board, comes after an eight-month delay. The South Asian nation is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1947. To help secure the deal, Pakistan's central bank raised its main interest rate to a record high of 22% on Monday. Pakistan's economy, which was already struggling after years of financial mismanagement, has been pushed to the brink by a global energy crisis and devastating floods that hit the country last year.
