Pakistan seeks international help as millions hit by ongoing monsoon spells

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Millions of Pakistanis have been struck by treacherous monsoon rains and flooding, as Islamabad sought the international community's help to cope with the escalating magnitude of the catastrophe.

Another 15 people lost their lives on Wednesday in southern and southwestern Pakistan as a fresh rain system damped a deluge of waters from the skies in southern Sindh, southwestern Balochistan, and northeastern Punjab provinces, triggering massive flooding.

The majority of fatalities have been reported in Sindh, where at least 30 districts have been raked by the ongoing monsoon spells.

The massive downpours further added to the miseries of hundreds of thousands of people who are either stranded or have already left their homes and moved to higher grounds, mainly along highways and roads in several parts of the three provinces.

Raging flash floods flowing down from the Sulieman mountain range engulfed hundreds of villages in northeastern Punjab and eastern Balochistan, triggering fresh migrations.

Citing government officials, Geo News reported that at least 10,000 people migrated to safer places in Punjab's Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts due to the latest flooding.

Footage showed long queues of affected people, including women and children, hand-in-hand and wading through gushing rainwaters to reach safety in several parts of Balochistan's eastern districts of Sibbi, Kohlu, Chaghi, Jaffarabad, and Naseerabad, and Sindh’s southern district of Badin, Thatta, Mirpur Khas, Sanghar, and Hyderabad.

Another footage showed desperate victims crying for help, particularly shelter and food in several rain-hit areas.

Over the past two days, rescue teams from the Pakistan Army and several non-governmental organizations moved thousands of marooned people to shelter camps and safer places by boats in flood-ravaged areas.

Crowds of people were seen running wildly to grab packets of food and water bottles dropped from the army and air force planes in different parts of the three provinces.

- World aid sought

The magnitude of the abnormal rains and flooding has prompted cash-strapped Pakistan to launch a global appeal to raise funds to meet the needs of the growing number of affected people.

The European Union has already announced a donation of 76 million rupees (approximately $350,000) to the country's flood victims.

The calamity is being seen as bigger than the 2010 floods that inundated a fifth of Pakistan and killed over 2,000 people.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, for his part, has appealed to the nation to assist flood victims, stating that the government needed hundreds of billions of rupees for relief and rehabilitation.

Sindh has turned out to be the hardest hit by the latest spells, with hundreds of thousands of people affected by the fresh rain spells and flooding.

"The entire province of Sindh is submerged. It looks like a river. It's never been like this before "Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said.

Shah said at a press conference in Sukkur on Wednesday that the province received 600% more rain in August than the previous year.

"We are running out of food, tents, and even firewood (to cook the food for victims). Several districts are without gas and electricity,” he said, adding that at least one million tents are immediately required for the victims who are lying under open skies.

He urged non-governmental organizations and philanthropists to join hands with the government as the "catastrophe is beyond imagination."

Since June, he said rains and flooding have killed over 300 people in Sindh alone.

In Balochistan, the latest flooding washed away several alternative roads and bridges, disconnecting the remaining areas from the rest of the country.

Traffic between Quetta, Balochistan’s capital, and the nation's commercial capital Karachi remained suspended for the eighth consecutive day.

Hundreds of farms and orchards were submerged by rainwaters and flash floods in Balochistan, which serves as the country's "fruit basket."

Since June 14, approximately 850 people have lost their lives and another 1,350 have been injured due to roof collapses, electrocution, drowning, and lightning across the country, according to the National Disaster Management Authority, a state-run agency that coordinates relief and rescue efforts.

The Meteorological Department of Pakistan has forecast massive downpours for the next 48 hours.​​​​​​​