UN\u2019s efforts \u2018drop in ocean\u2019
\n ISLAMABAD
\nUnited Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Saturday said that the situation in the world was \u201cvery unfair\u201d as he called on the world to play their part to help countries that haven\u2019t contributed to global emissions.
\nHe passed these remarks after visiting several areas of Pakistan ravaged by floods, as he rounded off a two-day trip aimed at raising awarenes of the disaster.
\nA video released by the PM Office showed Guterres seated next to Sharif viewing flood-damaged areas from an aircraft window. \u201cUnimaginable,\u201d Guterres said, surveying the damage.
\nThe secretary-general\u2019s call to action came as Pakistan logged another five fatalities \u2014 three of whom were children \u2014 in the previous 24-hour period, according to NDMA\u2019s daily situation update. Cumulatively, there are 1,396 fatalities since mid-June, 499 of whom are children.
\nIn an address today, he said that humanity had been waging war on nature and the nature was now striking back. \u201cAnd nature strikes back in Sindh, but Sindh has not made the emission of greenhouse gases that have exacerbated climate change.\u201d
\nSo, he went on, there was a \u201cvery unfair situation in relation to the level of destruction we are seeing in Sindh\u201d.
\n\u201cAnd it is essential for the international community to understand that Pakistan including Sindh needs today massive financial support to overcome these crisis,\u201d the secretary general emphasised, saying that this was not the matter of generosity, but of justice.
\nHe continued that the world needed to stop \u201cthis madness with which we are treating nature\u201d.
\n\u201cAccording to the scientific community, we need to reduce emissions by 45 per cent now.\u201d
\nThe UN chief called on the world to provide massive support to work on adaptation \u2014 to build resilient infrastructure, to support resilient communities and to create conditions for those who were in the hotspots of climate change, including Pakistan.
\n\u201cAnd this needs a huge investment. That\u2019s why we are asking for a strong increase in financing of resilience infrastructure and adaption,\u201d he said.
\nFurthermore, Guterres expressed total solidarity with the Pakistani people. \u201cWe will do everything we can to raise awareness and request those who have the capacity to support Pakistan, to request that they do it, they do it now, they do it massively and they do it looking into the preparation to face future challenges.\u201d
\n\u201cOur commitment, strong and emotional solidarity is something you can count on,\u201d he added.
\nLater, the UN chief visited Larkana and met the flood-affectees. He assured them that UN had appealed to the world for aid in the wake of the catastrophic floods, stressing that it was essential for the world to take responsibility of its actions.
\nGuterres was also briefed about the situation in Sindh and Balochistan by provincial authorities.
\nAnother cut made to Larkana-Sehwan bund
\nMeanwhile, the irrigation department made another cut into the Larakana-Sehwan (LS) bund near Karampur Saturday morning in a bid to prevent floodwater \u2014 gushing from Manchhar Lake and Main Nara Valley Drain (MNVD) breaches \u2014 from entering Dadu, Bhan Saeedabad, Sehwan and other neighbouring areas.
\nVijay Kumar, assistant engineer at the irrigation department, told Dawn News that a 200-feet wide cut had been made at RD-98 in the Sehwan\u2019s Karampur city to divert the water into River Indus.
\nYesterday, two cuts were made in the LS bund at RD-99 and RD-100 after breaches in Manchhar Lake\u2019s protective dyke threatened to enter cities.
\nKumar said that authorities were planning on making more cuts into the bund as it was the only option available to accelerate the release of water into River Indus.
\nSeparately, residents of Dadu told that the Pir Shahnawaz union council had been submerged due to floods, adding that several residents were vacating the area to move to safer locations.
\nAccording to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the total death toll from floods since June has now reached 1,396, while injuries have crossed the 12,000 mark.
\nIn its daily update, the National Flood Response Coordination Centre (NFRCC) said that during a total of 6,579km of roads, 246 bridges and 173 shops were damaged.
\nIt stated that the highest number of human and infrastructural damage was reported in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where rescue and relief operations are underway by the Pakistan Army and district administrations.
\nThe NFRCC has also predicted rain with thundershowers in Kashmir, upper KP, Islamabad, Potohar region and Gilgit Baltistan. In remaining parts of the country, hot and humid weather has been forecast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UN\u2019s efforts \u2018drop in ocean\u2019 ISLAMABAD United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Saturday said that the situation in the world was \u201cvery unfair\u201d as he called on the world to play their part to help countries that haven\u2019t contributed to global emissions. He passed these remarks after visiting several areas of Pakistan ravaged by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282678,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-282661","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n