Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said yesterday 20 million people had been affected by the worst floods in the country’s history as the UN confirmed the first cholera case.
Independence Day celebrations were cancelled as floods continued to bring misery to millions and aid agencies warned of a “second wave” of deaths from disease.
“The floods affected some 20 million people, destroyed standing crops and food storages worth billions of dollars, causing colossal loss to national economy,” Gilani said in a televised address to the nation.
“I would appeal to the world community to extend a helping hand to fight this calamity.”
The UN has appealed for $460 million to deal with the immediate aftermath of the floods but charities say the figure falls far short of what is needed.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was due to arrive in Pakistan today to discuss the relief effort and visit flood-hit areas.
“This is the worst-ever calamity for us and the entire nation will have to show courage to face it,” Gilani said, adding, “I am pretty confident that the nation will once again emerge victorious from this crisis.”
“Outbreak of epidemics in the flood-hit areas is a serious threat, which can further compound the already grave situation,” Gilani added, as the UN confirmed the country’s first cholera case in Mingora, the main town in the northwestern district of Swat.
Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs, said at least 36,000 people were reportedly suffering from acute watery diarrhoea.
“We’re not suggesting that everyone who has acute watery diarrhoea has cholera, but cholera is certainly a concern and that’s why we’re stepping up our efforts to treat it,” he said.
Arif Mehmood, Pakistan’s chief meteorological official, said no new wave of flooding was expected to hit any river in the next couple of days.
Charities said relief for those affected by the worst natural disaster in Pakistan’s history was lagging far behind what was needed.
“There are millions of people needing food, clean water and medical care and they need it right now,” said Jacques de Maio, head of operations for South Asia at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“Clearly at this point in time the overall relief effort cannot keep pace with the overall scale of the emergency.” he said.
Humanitarian agencies in Pakistan were monitoring the risk of “a second wave of deaths induced by the floods in the shape of water-borne diseases”, De Maio said, adding that it was impossible to measure the full scale of the disaster.
Celebrations yesterday marking the anniversary of Pakistan’s 1947 independence from British colonial rule were scrapped by President Asif Ali Zardari, his spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, announced.
The embattled leader has come under fire from flood victims and the opposition after pressing on with a recent trip to Europe, despite the mounting emergency.