Pakistan Climate Minister: About 33 million people affected by flood disaster

Pakistan's Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman said Monday that the recent devastating floods in Pakistan is a record-breaking climate event that has never been witnessed in the history of the world.The World Bank estimates the total losses to be US$40 billion, she said.In a statement carried by Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), the Minister said that 33 million are affected by the floods, 70 percent of them are women and children.The intensity of the floods ripped apart more than 13,000 km of roads and 436 bridges like they were mere sticks, deeming parts of the country unreachable, she added."Since mid-June, 1,700 people have lost their lives and 12,867 have been injured. We thankfully not received reports of new deaths in the last 24 hours," Pakistan's Minister for Climate Change said in the statement."With more than 1,400 health facilities damaged, 8.2 million people require urgent medical services as hospitals and clinics are drowned in flood waters. Waterborne diseases like dengue, malaria, cholera, skin diseases and others will run rampant if the situation is not controlled with lifesaving and essential medical and hygiene services," the minister underlined.Food security will be the next challenge, 9.4 million, acres of standing crops inundated and damaged, this is directly putting at risk 14.6 million people, in the line of a food sector and agriculture crisis, the minister said. (QNA)