Aussies considering a trip to Pakistan have been warned about the effects of catastrophic flooding across the country, interrupting essential services and killing more than 1,000 people.
Smartraveller has released an update to its advice on the destination, warning travellers that Pakistani authorities have declared a national emergency following severe flooding as a result of abnormally heavy monsoonal rains.
The unprecedented floods have left hundreds of thousands of people homeless, inundated major highways, caused widespread damage to infrastructure and killed at least 1,191 people including 399 children since June.
Smartraveller has advised Australians travelling in Pakistan to follow the advice of local authorities and check media for updates.
The service hasn’t changed its overall advice for Pakistan, which still sits at “Reconsider your need to travel to Pakistan” due to the already volatile security situation and high threat of terrorist attack, kidnapping and violence.
📢 #PakistanFloods update📢
WFP assistance to include food relief, malnutrition prevention and livelihoods support.
WFP will also give logistics support for the response. But US$ 34 million is urgently needed to ramp up relief operations.
🔗Get the full update
— World Food Programme (@WFP) August 30, 2022
Smartraveller also noted that Pakistan is prone to natural disasters and severe weather, including floods, landslides and avalanches, cyclones, earthquakes and tsunamis.
However, the United Nations (UN) has called the current floods an “unprecedented climate catastrophe” and said Pakistan had not experienced this level of flooding in decades.
According to the UN, nearly 3,500 km of roads and 150 bridges have been damaged, impeding people’s ability to flee and preventing the delivery of aid to the millions in need.
An estimated 33 million people have been affected by the floods and 500,000 are estimated to have been displaced.
Image: ABC News
