In the last week, the United Nations requested a record 2 billion dollars for further emergency relief efforts. Haiti, the last record holder, only solicited 1.5 billion. This massive relief effort comes from the displacement of over 20 million Pakistani people that were left homeless after the flooding. Although less than two thousand people have died as a result of the flooding, the dangers for epidemics and malnutrition are rampant. The new appeal for 2 billion dollars includes the previously supplied funds originally sought of 460 million dollars. There is a desperate need to set up medical relief camps, reestablish agriculture establishments, and provide sanitary drinking water. Diseases have already been spreading rapidly, due to the lack of unclean water, and will continue to take over unless there is strong intervention. These efforts are extremely costly and dangerous however, as flooding continues to sweep across the nation. Approximately 1.9 million homes have been destroyed by the flooding along with thousands of farms and businesses causing many to be completely dependent on aid, possibly through 2012. Although commitments for funding have been made and some fulfilled, much is still needed to help Pakistan to get back on its feet.
This article makes me wonder what the meteorological explanation is as to why the flooding has continued over Pakistan for such a long time. I also wonder why there hasn’t been such extensive damage like this before if it is caused by climate or location issues. I think due to the continuing circumstances in Pakistan, these storms that have caused the flooding must not have been adequately predicted by weather professionals or they might have been able to evacuate some of the people from the storm path. Whatever the reasons or causes for the storm and whether or not they were preventable really doesn’t matter at this point, so long as efforts are made to recover from the damage.
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