Humanitarian agencies stand by in Pakistan as floods kill 25, displace estimated 50,000 others

"Predictions by Pakistan's Meteorological Department of more rain in the days ahead have raised flood fears, especially in Sindh Province, as the monsoon season peaks," IRIN reports (8/17). "United Nations humanitarian agencies in Pakistan are on standby after sustained rains have reportedly affected up to 750,000 people in Punjab and Sindh provinces, killing up to 25 and displacing some 50,000 others," the U.N. News Centre reports. "The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) conducted informal assessments last week in some areas where there had been a significant loss of homes, and district authorities were already relocating families to shelters," the news agency writes.

"The current flooding from this year's monsoon season has stemmed from heavy rains across the country, as opposed to last year when torrential downpours in the north sent a series of floods cascading through the country … killing some 2,000 people but affecting 20 million others, destroying or damaging more than two million homes and causing $10 billion in damage," the U.N. News Centre notes (8/15).