Although Pakistan’s floodwaters are beginning to recede after the country’s month-long drenching, the heads of several U.N. agencies say aid still is in urgent need across the country.
The heavy rains that were so common during the past month are occurring less frequently now in Islamabad, a sign that the monsoon season might be drawing to a close. But U.N. officials say the end to the nightmare for an estimated 17.6 million people across Pakistan who are suffering because of flooding is nowhere in sight.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s special envoy for assistance to Pakistan, Jean-Maurice Ripert, spoke to reporters in Islamabad. He said that weeks into the disaster, Mr. Ban’s earlier assessment that the flooding was a slow-motion tsunami still is accurate. Ripert said Pakistan has received assistance and pledges of more than dollar one billion. But he said that is far from enough.