ISLAMABAD: Two more planes carrying Saudi humanitarian aid landed in Karachi on Thursday as Pakistan reels from record monsoon rains and floods that have killed 1,576 people since the beginning of the season in June.
Pakistan estimates the damage caused by the recent climate disaster to be at least $30 billion, as both the government and the United Nations, whose chief recently toured the flood-hit areas, have blamed the situation on climate change.
Last week, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) launched a campaign to support flood-affected people in Pakistan as the administration in Islamabad called for more international help to deal with the situation.
“Two relief assistance flights from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia landed today at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi,” Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said on Thursday. “A total of five such flights have landed in Pakistan from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with relief goods for flood affectees.”
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the unprecedented rains and floods have inundated millions of acres of land and affected more than 33 million people.
Last week, Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki and Director KSRelief Dr. Khalid Al-Thmani visited the flood-hit area of Sehwan Sharif in Sindh province and distributed rations and other necessary items among people.
The Saudi ambassador said the kingdom would assess flood damages through KSRelief and send hundreds of trucks loaded with support to flood-hit areas with the help of NDMA.
