Pakistan declares a state of national emergency after confirming almost a thousand deaths from floods

MADRID, 26 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Pakistani authorities have declared a national state of emergency due to the floods that are devastating the country, a "climate-induced humanitarian crisis of epic proportions" according to the Government, and which has already left at least 937 dead, including 343 children, and 30 million homeless people.

The rains have hit the population of the province of Sindh, in the south of the country, where more than 300 people have died since the beginning of the floods, on June 14. The state of Baluchistan has reported 234 deaths, while Jíber Pajtunjua and Punjab registered 185 and 165 deaths respectively, according to the balance of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) collected this Friday by the newspaper 'Dawn'.

According to the NDMA, Pakistan received 166.8 mm of rain in August, compared to the average of 48 mm, an increase of 241 percent. Consequently, the abnormal increase in rainfall generated flash floods throughout the country, particularly in the southern part of Pakistan and specifically in Sindh, where more than twenty municipalities have been submerged.

The Minister for Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, has confirmed in the last few hours the opening of a "war room" headed by the Prime Minister, Shabhaz Sharif, to deal with these "monstrous rains".

"Pakistan is going through its eighth cycle of monsoons, normally the country only has three or four cycles of monsoon rain. This is unprecedented and the data we are considering suggests that we could go through another ninth cycle next month", has declared.

The European Union announced this Friday that it will allocate 1.8 million euros in humanitarian aid to assist people affected by the floods, through organizations that work on the ground and will seek to alleviate the consequences of the monsoon rains.

This includes the provision of temporary shelter, food, water, health services and transfers. This aid is added to the one sent worth 350,000 euros to specifically help the communities in Balochistan.