Volunteers of the Charity Al-Khidmat Foundation prepare relief bags for flood-affected people in Karachi on Sept 3. Photo: Rizwan Tabassum/AFP via Getty Images
Pakistan on Saturday appealed to the international community for an “immense humanitarian response” to unprecedented flooding that has left more than 1,200 people dead, ABC News reports.
Driving the news: The request comes as the toll from floods that started in mid-June continued to climb, with 57 more deaths reported, 25 of them children, per Reuters.
What they're saying: “The scale of devastation is massive and requires an immense humanitarian response for 33 million people," Pakistan federal planning minister Ahsan Iqbal said Saturday in a news conference cited by Reuters.
- "For this, I appeal to my fellow Pakistanis, Pakistan expatriates and the international community to help Pakistan in this hour of need,” he added.
Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority on Saturday reported 57 more deaths in flood-affected areas, bringing the total death toll since monsoon rains began to 1,265, including 441 children, according to ABC News.
Scientists and international officials have blamed the unusual monsoon rains and flooding on climate change, including U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who this week called on the world to stop “sleepwalking” through the deadly crisis.
- "Let’s stop sleepwalking toward the destruction of our planet by climate change," Guterres tweeted. "Today, it is Pakistan. Tomorrow, it could be your country."
Guterres is expected to visit Pakistan on Sept. 9 to tour flood-hit areas and meet with officials.
The big picture: Pakistan is a vulnerable country to climate change-enhanced disasters, rating among the top 10 most vulnerable nations to long-term climate risks by the Global Climate Risk Index.
- The country contributes less than 1% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, yet is experiencing some of its most severe impacts.
Go deeper: Devastating Pakistan floods likely have climate change ties