Some doctors said at first they mostly saw patients injured by the floods, but are now treating people suffering from diarrhoea, skin infections and other water-borne ailments in the flood-hit areas of the country. Many pregnant women living in flood-affected areas were also at risk. The development has forced the government to deploy additional medical teams, send medicine and provide clean drinking water to survivors, many of whom are living in tents and makeshift homes. The warning came a day after record-breaking floods prompted the United Nations to formally appeal for US$160 million in emergency funding in the impoverished Islamic nation, where about a million homes have been damaged or destroyed. According to the UN Population Fund, approximately 650,000 pregnant women in flood-affected areas need maternal health services to ensure a safe pregnancy and delivery. People wade through flood waters in Nowshera, Pakistan after monsoon rains and flooding on Wednesday. (Fayaz Aziz/Reuters) “Up to 73,000 women expected to give birth next month will need specialist birth attendants, newborn care and support,” she said in a statement. Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, health minister in the country’s worst-hit province, Sindh, said officials have set up 4,210 medical camps in the flood-hit areas of the province to treat victims now suffering from skin and water-borne diseases, which are common during floods. Authorities said waterborne diseases among flood victims are now common across the country. “Initially we received wounded, but now diarrhea is common,” said Farhad Khan, a doctor in charge of a medical camp set up in the northwestern city of Charsadda. It is one of the worst flood-hit areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, where floods have killed 257 people since mid-June. Residents in southern Pakistan used sandbags to protect their homes from floods that inundated a major highway on Wednesday as global aid began arriving with food, medicine and tents to ease the national disaster. Wednesday’s flooding was caused by water gushing from nearby mountains between Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Residents feared the situation could worsen as water from the floods in the north had not yet reached the southern province of Sindh and could do so in the coming days. The major rivers, the Indus and the Kabul, have reached “high to very high flood” levels that are likely to continue rising over the next 24 hours, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said. Residents work to place sandbags as barriers to stop flood waters following rains and floods in Mehar, Sindh province. (Akhtar Soomro/Reuters) Pakistan has received nearly 190 percent more rainfall than the 30-year average in the three months to August this year, totaling 390.7 millimeters. Sindh, population 50 million, was hardest hit, with 466 percent more rainfall than the 30-year average. Unusually heavy monsoon rains and melting glaciers caused floods that submerged a third of the country and killed at least 1,191 people, including 399 children. The UN has appealed for $160 million to help with what it calls an “unprecedented climate disaster”.
Challenging remote evacuation
The Pakistani authorities, with the support of the army, rescuers and volunteers, tried to evacuate the trapped people to safer places. On Wednesday, military helicopters continued to evacuate flood victims and deliver food to remote areas, according to a statement released by the military. It said it has deployed at least 6,500 troops to help with rescue and relief operations. Rescuers were also using boats to evacuate those trapped in southern Sindh province and remote villages in eastern Punjab province. Flooding in the past 24 hours has damaged an estimated 70,000 more houses in the country’s northwestern and southern Sindh province, according to the NDMA. WATCHES | Reconstruction can take 5 years:
Damage from deadly Pakistan floods tops US$10 billion, officials say
Pakistan’s climate chief says a third of the country is underwater after monsoon floods destroyed nearly a million homes and killed more than 1,000 people.
The food crisis is approaching
Vegetable and fruit prices have soared in markets across Pakistan as devastating rains destroy crops and disrupt supplies, an early sign of how the worst floods in decades are creating food shortages at a time of economic crisis. Pakistan’s 220 million people are already facing rampant inflation, with consumer prices rising 24.9 percent year-on-year in July. The economy is in turmoil, with a rapid depletion of foreign exchange reserves and a record depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar. In the eastern city of Lahore, close to the Indian border and far from the worst of the flooding in Sindh, prices of some vegetables have tripled. People cook food next to their damaged house after monsoon rains and floods in Jafarabad on Sunday. (Amer Hussain/Reuters) “Last week I sold onions for 90 rupees ($0.54 Cdn) per kilo and today the government price is 300 ($1.79 Cdn) per kilo,” said vegetable seller Ahmad Ali. The Pakistani government sets prices for some fresh produce, although traders often ignore the guidelines. Tomatoes and onions are among the most common ingredients in Pakistani cooking, and tens of thousands of tons of each are consumed each month. “Supply of vegetables and fruits in Lahore is decreasing day by day due to floods, rains and road damage,” said Malik Salim Awan, a vendor at the Lahore fruit and vegetable market. “Before the current scenario, we used to get over 100 truckloads (of fresh produce) daily. Now, we get only 10 to 15 truckloads,” Awan said. A flood victim rescues items from a house in a flooded area in Shikarpur district of Sindh province. (Fareed Khan/The Associated Press) Officials say more than 809,371 hectares of farmland have been flooded, destroying most permanent crops and preventing farmers from planting new ones. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government is scrambling to secure supplies. “The rice crop has been washed away,” Sharif told reporters after visiting northern Pakistan. “Fruits and vegetables are gone.” He said floodwaters swept away 700,000 animals. Pakistan’s agricultural sector fuels the economy and feeds the people, accounting for more than a fifth of the country’s output, employing up to 40 percent of the workforce and producing goods worth about US$80 billion annually. Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar said on Wednesday that the government was close to an agreement to import vegetables and other edible products from Iran and Afghanistan and an urgent request had been made to the cabinet to approve it. “Prices have already gone up,” Qamar told a news conference, citing the effects of the floods. “If you go to buy onions, you wouldn’t get it. If you go to buy tomatoes, you’ll get it at a much higher price.” WATCHES | Canadian in Pakistan appeals for help for flood victims:
Canadian in Pakistan urges fellow citizens to help flood victims
The president of the Canada Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Culture is asking Canadians to help fund the massive relief effort underway after a third of Pakistan was inundated by floods.
title: “Flooded Pakistan Faces Waterborne Diseases Food Shortages Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-11” author: “George Rodriguez”
Some doctors said at first they mostly saw patients injured by the floods, but are now treating people suffering from diarrhoea, skin infections and other water-borne ailments in the flood-hit areas of the country. Many pregnant women living in flood-affected areas were also at risk. The development has forced the government to deploy additional medical teams, send medicine and provide clean drinking water to survivors, many of whom are living in tents and makeshift homes. The warning came a day after record-breaking floods prompted the United Nations to formally appeal for US$160 million in emergency funding in the impoverished Islamic nation, where about a million homes have been damaged or destroyed. According to the UN Population Fund, approximately 650,000 pregnant women in flood-affected areas need maternal health services to ensure a safe pregnancy and delivery. People wade through flood waters in Nowshera, Pakistan after monsoon rains and flooding on Wednesday. (Fayaz Aziz/Reuters) “Up to 73,000 women expected to give birth next month will need specialist birth attendants, newborn care and support,” she said in a statement. Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, health minister in the country’s worst-hit province, Sindh, said officials have set up 4,210 medical camps in the flood-hit areas of the province to treat victims now suffering from skin and water-borne diseases, which are common during floods. Authorities said waterborne diseases among flood victims are now common across the country. “Initially we received wounded, but now diarrhea is common,” said Farhad Khan, a doctor in charge of a medical camp set up in the northwestern city of Charsadda. It is one of the worst flood-hit areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, where floods have killed 257 people since mid-June. Residents in southern Pakistan used sandbags to protect their homes from floods that inundated a major highway on Wednesday as global aid began arriving with food, medicine and tents to ease the national disaster. Wednesday’s flooding was caused by water gushing from nearby mountains between Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Residents feared the situation could worsen as water from the floods in the north had not yet reached the southern province of Sindh and could do so in the coming days. The major rivers, the Indus and the Kabul, have reached “high to very high flood” levels that are likely to continue rising over the next 24 hours, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said. Residents work to place sandbags as barriers to stop flood waters following rains and floods in Mehar, Sindh province. (Akhtar Soomro/Reuters) Pakistan has received nearly 190 percent more rainfall than the 30-year average in the three months to August this year, totaling 390.7 millimeters. Sindh, population 50 million, was hardest hit, with 466 percent more rainfall than the 30-year average. Unusually heavy monsoon rains and melting glaciers caused floods that submerged a third of the country and killed at least 1,191 people, including 399 children. The UN has appealed for $160 million to help with what it calls an “unprecedented climate disaster”.
Challenging remote evacuation
The Pakistani authorities, with the support of the army, rescuers and volunteers, tried to evacuate the trapped people to safer places. On Wednesday, military helicopters continued to evacuate flood victims and deliver food to remote areas, according to a statement released by the military. It said it has deployed at least 6,500 troops to help with rescue and relief operations. Rescuers were also using boats to evacuate those trapped in southern Sindh province and remote villages in eastern Punjab province. Flooding in the past 24 hours has damaged an estimated 70,000 more houses in the country’s northwestern and southern Sindh province, according to the NDMA. WATCHES | Reconstruction can take 5 years:
Damage from deadly Pakistan floods tops US$10 billion, officials say
Pakistan’s climate chief says a third of the country is underwater after monsoon floods destroyed nearly a million homes and killed more than 1,000 people.
The food crisis is approaching
Vegetable and fruit prices have soared in markets across Pakistan as devastating rains destroy crops and disrupt supplies, an early sign of how the worst floods in decades are creating food shortages at a time of economic crisis. Pakistan’s 220 million people are already facing rampant inflation, with consumer prices rising 24.9 percent year-on-year in July. The economy is in turmoil, with a rapid depletion of foreign exchange reserves and a record depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar. In the eastern city of Lahore, close to the Indian border and far from the worst of the flooding in Sindh, prices of some vegetables have tripled. People cook food next to their damaged house after monsoon rains and floods in Jafarabad on Sunday. (Amer Hussain/Reuters) “Last week I sold onions for 90 rupees ($0.54 Cdn) per kilo and today the government price is 300 ($1.79 Cdn) per kilo,” said vegetable seller Ahmad Ali. The Pakistani government sets prices for some fresh produce, although traders often ignore the guidelines. Tomatoes and onions are among the most common ingredients in Pakistani cooking, and tens of thousands of tons of each are consumed each month. “Supply of vegetables and fruits in Lahore is decreasing day by day due to floods, rains and road damage,” said Malik Salim Awan, a vendor at the Lahore fruit and vegetable market. “Before the current scenario, we used to get over 100 truckloads (of fresh produce) daily. Now, we get only 10 to 15 truckloads,” Awan said. A flood victim rescues items from a house in a flooded area in Shikarpur district of Sindh province. (Fareed Khan/The Associated Press) Officials say more than 809,371 hectares of farmland have been flooded, destroying most permanent crops and preventing farmers from planting new ones. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government is scrambling to secure supplies. “The rice crop has been washed away,” Sharif told reporters after visiting northern Pakistan. “Fruits and vegetables are gone.” He said floodwaters swept away 700,000 animals. Pakistan’s agricultural sector fuels the economy and feeds the people, accounting for more than a fifth of the country’s output, employing up to 40 percent of the workforce and producing goods worth about US$80 billion annually. Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar said on Wednesday that the government was close to an agreement to import vegetables and other edible products from Iran and Afghanistan and an urgent request had been made to the cabinet to approve it. “Prices have already gone up,” Qamar told a news conference, citing the effects of the floods. “If you go to buy onions, you wouldn’t get it. If you go to buy tomatoes, you’ll get it at a much higher price.” WATCHES | Canadian in Pakistan appeals for help for flood victims:
Canadian in Pakistan urges fellow citizens to help flood victims
The president of the Canada Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Culture is asking Canadians to help fund the massive relief effort underway after a third of Pakistan was inundated by floods.
title: “Flooded Pakistan Faces Waterborne Diseases Food Shortages Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-07” author: “Yong Polkinghorn”
Some doctors said at first they mostly saw patients injured by the floods, but are now treating people suffering from diarrhoea, skin infections and other water-borne ailments in the flood-hit areas of the country. Many pregnant women living in flood-affected areas were also at risk. The development has forced the government to deploy additional medical teams, send medicine and provide clean drinking water to survivors, many of whom are living in tents and makeshift homes. The warning came a day after record-breaking floods prompted the United Nations to formally appeal for US$160 million in emergency funding in the impoverished Islamic nation, where about a million homes have been damaged or destroyed. According to the UN Population Fund, approximately 650,000 pregnant women in flood-affected areas need maternal health services to ensure a safe pregnancy and delivery. People wade through flood waters in Nowshera, Pakistan after monsoon rains and flooding on Wednesday. (Fayaz Aziz/Reuters) “Up to 73,000 women expected to give birth next month will need specialist birth attendants, newborn care and support,” she said in a statement. Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, health minister in the country’s worst-hit province, Sindh, said officials have set up 4,210 medical camps in the flood-hit areas of the province to treat victims now suffering from skin and water-borne diseases, which are common during floods. Authorities said waterborne diseases among flood victims are now common across the country. “Initially we received wounded, but now diarrhea is common,” said Farhad Khan, a doctor in charge of a medical camp set up in the northwestern city of Charsadda. It is one of the worst flood-hit areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, where floods have killed 257 people since mid-June. Residents in southern Pakistan used sandbags to protect their homes from floods that inundated a major highway on Wednesday as global aid began arriving with food, medicine and tents to ease the national disaster. Wednesday’s flooding was caused by water gushing from nearby mountains between Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Residents feared the situation could worsen as water from the floods in the north had not yet reached the southern province of Sindh and could do so in the coming days. The major rivers, the Indus and the Kabul, have reached “high to very high flood” levels that are likely to continue rising over the next 24 hours, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said. Residents work to place sandbags as barriers to stop flood waters following rains and floods in Mehar, Sindh province. (Akhtar Soomro/Reuters) Pakistan has received nearly 190 percent more rainfall than the 30-year average in the three months to August this year, totaling 390.7 millimeters. Sindh, population 50 million, was hardest hit, with 466 percent more rainfall than the 30-year average. Unusually heavy monsoon rains and melting glaciers caused floods that submerged a third of the country and killed at least 1,191 people, including 399 children. The UN has appealed for $160 million to help with what it calls an “unprecedented climate disaster”.
Challenging remote evacuation
The Pakistani authorities, with the support of the army, rescuers and volunteers, tried to evacuate the trapped people to safer places. On Wednesday, military helicopters continued to evacuate flood victims and deliver food to remote areas, according to a statement released by the military. It said it has deployed at least 6,500 troops to help with rescue and relief operations. Rescuers were also using boats to evacuate those trapped in southern Sindh province and remote villages in eastern Punjab province. Flooding in the past 24 hours has damaged an estimated 70,000 more houses in the country’s northwestern and southern Sindh province, according to the NDMA. WATCHES | Reconstruction can take 5 years:
Damage from deadly Pakistan floods tops US$10 billion, officials say
Pakistan’s climate chief says a third of the country is underwater after monsoon floods destroyed nearly a million homes and killed more than 1,000 people.
The food crisis is approaching
Vegetable and fruit prices have soared in markets across Pakistan as devastating rains destroy crops and disrupt supplies, an early sign of how the worst floods in decades are creating food shortages at a time of economic crisis. Pakistan’s 220 million people are already facing rampant inflation, with consumer prices rising 24.9 percent year-on-year in July. The economy is in turmoil, with a rapid depletion of foreign exchange reserves and a record depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar. In the eastern city of Lahore, close to the Indian border and far from the worst of the flooding in Sindh, prices of some vegetables have tripled. People cook food next to their damaged house after monsoon rains and floods in Jafarabad on Sunday. (Amer Hussain/Reuters) “Last week I sold onions for 90 rupees ($0.54 Cdn) per kilo and today the government price is 300 ($1.79 Cdn) per kilo,” said vegetable seller Ahmad Ali. The Pakistani government sets prices for some fresh produce, although traders often ignore the guidelines. Tomatoes and onions are among the most common ingredients in Pakistani cooking, and tens of thousands of tons of each are consumed each month. “Supply of vegetables and fruits in Lahore is decreasing day by day due to floods, rains and road damage,” said Malik Salim Awan, a vendor at the Lahore fruit and vegetable market. “Before the current scenario, we used to get over 100 truckloads (of fresh produce) daily. Now, we get only 10 to 15 truckloads,” Awan said. A flood victim rescues items from a house in a flooded area in Shikarpur district of Sindh province. (Fareed Khan/The Associated Press) Officials say more than 809,371 hectares of farmland have been flooded, destroying most permanent crops and preventing farmers from planting new ones. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government is scrambling to secure supplies. “The rice crop has been washed away,” Sharif told reporters after visiting northern Pakistan. “Fruits and vegetables are gone.” He said floodwaters swept away 700,000 animals. Pakistan’s agricultural sector fuels the economy and feeds the people, accounting for more than a fifth of the country’s output, employing up to 40 percent of the workforce and producing goods worth about US$80 billion annually. Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar said on Wednesday that the government was close to an agreement to import vegetables and other edible products from Iran and Afghanistan and an urgent request had been made to the cabinet to approve it. “Prices have already gone up,” Qamar told a news conference, citing the effects of the floods. “If you go to buy onions, you wouldn’t get it. If you go to buy tomatoes, you’ll get it at a much higher price.” WATCHES | Canadian in Pakistan appeals for help for flood victims:
Canadian in Pakistan urges fellow citizens to help flood victims
The president of the Canada Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Culture is asking Canadians to help fund the massive relief effort underway after a third of Pakistan was inundated by floods.
title: “Flooded Pakistan Faces Waterborne Diseases Food Shortages Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-26” author: “Paula Bland”
Some doctors said at first they mostly saw patients injured by the floods, but are now treating people suffering from diarrhoea, skin infections and other water-borne ailments in the flood-hit areas of the country. Many pregnant women living in flood-affected areas were also at risk. The development has forced the government to deploy additional medical teams, send medicine and provide clean drinking water to survivors, many of whom are living in tents and makeshift homes. The warning came a day after record-breaking floods prompted the United Nations to formally appeal for US$160 million in emergency funding in the impoverished Islamic nation, where about a million homes have been damaged or destroyed. According to the UN Population Fund, approximately 650,000 pregnant women in flood-affected areas need maternal health services to ensure a safe pregnancy and delivery. People wade through flood waters in Nowshera, Pakistan after monsoon rains and flooding on Wednesday. (Fayaz Aziz/Reuters) “Up to 73,000 women expected to give birth next month will need specialist birth attendants, newborn care and support,” she said in a statement. Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, health minister in the country’s worst-hit province, Sindh, said officials have set up 4,210 medical camps in the flood-hit areas of the province to treat victims now suffering from skin and water-borne diseases, which are common during floods. Authorities said waterborne diseases among flood victims are now common across the country. “Initially we received wounded, but now diarrhea is common,” said Farhad Khan, a doctor in charge of a medical camp set up in the northwestern city of Charsadda. It is one of the worst flood-hit areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, where floods have killed 257 people since mid-June. Residents in southern Pakistan used sandbags to protect their homes from floods that inundated a major highway on Wednesday as global aid began arriving with food, medicine and tents to ease the national disaster. Wednesday’s flooding was caused by water gushing from nearby mountains between Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Residents feared the situation could worsen as water from the floods in the north had not yet reached the southern province of Sindh and could do so in the coming days. The major rivers, the Indus and the Kabul, have reached “high to very high flood” levels that are likely to continue rising over the next 24 hours, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said. Residents work to place sandbags as barriers to stop flood waters following rains and floods in Mehar, Sindh province. (Akhtar Soomro/Reuters) Pakistan has received nearly 190 percent more rainfall than the 30-year average in the three months to August this year, totaling 390.7 millimeters. Sindh, population 50 million, was hardest hit, with 466 percent more rainfall than the 30-year average. Unusually heavy monsoon rains and melting glaciers caused floods that submerged a third of the country and killed at least 1,191 people, including 399 children. The UN has appealed for $160 million to help with what it calls an “unprecedented climate disaster”.
Challenging remote evacuation
The Pakistani authorities, with the support of the army, rescuers and volunteers, tried to evacuate the trapped people to safer places. On Wednesday, military helicopters continued to evacuate flood victims and deliver food to remote areas, according to a statement released by the military. It said it has deployed at least 6,500 troops to help with rescue and relief operations. Rescuers were also using boats to evacuate those trapped in southern Sindh province and remote villages in eastern Punjab province. Flooding in the past 24 hours has damaged an estimated 70,000 more houses in the country’s northwestern and southern Sindh province, according to the NDMA. WATCHES | Reconstruction can take 5 years:
Damage from deadly Pakistan floods tops US$10 billion, officials say
Pakistan’s climate chief says a third of the country is underwater after monsoon floods destroyed nearly a million homes and killed more than 1,000 people.
The food crisis is approaching
Vegetable and fruit prices have soared in markets across Pakistan as devastating rains destroy crops and disrupt supplies, an early sign of how the worst floods in decades are creating food shortages at a time of economic crisis. Pakistan’s 220 million people are already facing rampant inflation, with consumer prices rising 24.9 percent year-on-year in July. The economy is in turmoil, with a rapid depletion of foreign exchange reserves and a record depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar. In the eastern city of Lahore, close to the Indian border and far from the worst of the flooding in Sindh, prices of some vegetables have tripled. People cook food next to their damaged house after monsoon rains and floods in Jafarabad on Sunday. (Amer Hussain/Reuters) “Last week I sold onions for 90 rupees ($0.54 Cdn) per kilo and today the government price is 300 ($1.79 Cdn) per kilo,” said vegetable seller Ahmad Ali. The Pakistani government sets prices for some fresh produce, although traders often ignore the guidelines. Tomatoes and onions are among the most common ingredients in Pakistani cooking, and tens of thousands of tons of each are consumed each month. “Supply of vegetables and fruits in Lahore is decreasing day by day due to floods, rains and road damage,” said Malik Salim Awan, a vendor at the Lahore fruit and vegetable market. “Before the current scenario, we used to get over 100 truckloads (of fresh produce) daily. Now, we get only 10 to 15 truckloads,” Awan said. A flood victim rescues items from a house in a flooded area in Shikarpur district of Sindh province. (Fareed Khan/The Associated Press) Officials say more than 809,371 hectares of farmland have been flooded, destroying most permanent crops and preventing farmers from planting new ones. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government is scrambling to secure supplies. “The rice crop has been washed away,” Sharif told reporters after visiting northern Pakistan. “Fruits and vegetables are gone.” He said floodwaters swept away 700,000 animals. Pakistan’s agricultural sector fuels the economy and feeds the people, accounting for more than a fifth of the country’s output, employing up to 40 percent of the workforce and producing goods worth about US$80 billion annually. Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar said on Wednesday that the government was close to an agreement to import vegetables and other edible products from Iran and Afghanistan and an urgent request had been made to the cabinet to approve it. “Prices have already gone up,” Qamar told a news conference, citing the effects of the floods. “If you go to buy onions, you wouldn’t get it. If you go to buy tomatoes, you’ll get it at a much higher price.” WATCHES | Canadian in Pakistan appeals for help for flood victims:
Canadian in Pakistan urges fellow citizens to help flood victims
The president of the Canada Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Culture is asking Canadians to help fund the massive relief effort underway after a third of Pakistan was inundated by floods.
