UN chief Guterres visits flood ravaged areas in Pakistan

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres interact with school children at a flood relief camp in Pakistan. Pic/AP

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Saturday visited several areas of Pakistan ravaged by floods, as he rounded off a two-day trip aimed at raising awareness of the disaster. Record monsoon rains and glacier melt in northern mountains have triggered floods that have killed more than 1,391 people, sweeping away houses, roads, railway tracks, bridges, livestock and crops.

Huge areas of the country are inundated, and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes. The government says the lives of nearly 33 million have been disrupted. Pakistan estimates the damage at $30 billion, and both the government and Guterres have blamed the flooding on climate change.

The UN secretary-general landed in Sindh province on Saturday, before flying over some of the worst-affected areas en route to Balochistan, another badly hit province.

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"It is difficult not to feel deeply moved to hear such detailed descriptions of tragedy,"Guterres said after landing in Sindh, according to a video released by the office of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. "Pakistan needs massive financial support. This is not a matter of generosity, it is a matter of justice."

A video released by Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb showed Guterres seated next to Sharif viewing flood-damaged areas from an aircraft window. "Unimaginable," Guterres said, surveying the damage.

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