Zubair Qureshi
Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman Friday apprised the Japanese Ambassador Mitsuhiro Wada of the current relief efforts, the devastation wreaked by the floods throughout the country and the situation of assistance required for recovery, reconstruction for the flood-affected areas and population.
The ambassador who had called on her to express condolences over the loss of lives and damage caused to the infrastructure assured her the government and people of Japan stood by the people and the government of Pakistan in this hour of difficulty.
Sherry said, “We are still receiving new data as the assessments keep coming in of 1,508 people losing their lives and more than 12,000 are injured.”
Over 300 bridges have been torn apart and nearly 13,000 km of roads have been severely damaged, cutting off access to the areas drowned in floodwaters, she said adding instant rescue and humanitarian relief has become an urgent task, as those who have survived cannot find dry land to pitch their tents. We had cascading climate events occurring one after the other since the start to the year, with temperatures reaching 53 degrees in Sindh followed by heatwaves and 3 times the normal amount of GLOFs. Spread of diseases like cholera, dengue and others will exacerbate the health crisis amongst the affected population as 33 million people have been impacted severely.”
The ambassador briefed her about the humanitarian assistance and conveyed the extension of Emergency Grant Aid of US$ 7 million to Pakistan by the Government of Japan in response to the damages caused by the flood disaster that have occurred in Pakistan.
Thanking the ambassador for the support, Minister Rehman remarked, “We are extremely thankful to the people of Japan for extending their support and looking to support Pakistan in rebuilding as resilience will require more funds. Our aim is to build back better with climate resilient infrastructure and to address the looming food, livelihood and water insecurities that will arise once the waters recede.”
