By Abu Muhammad

The devastating floods in Pakistan have killed over 1,400 and affected over 33 million.

A third of the country is still under water, as authorities in Pakistan have warned it could take up to six months for deadly flood waters to recede in the country’s hardest-hit areas.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) latest report, the cumulative number of homes damaged by flooding was over 1.7 million, while over 6,600kms of roads and 269 bridges had been damaged, reported The Dawn.

Fears continue to rise over the threat posed by waterborne diseases including cholera and dengue.

“Karachi is seeing an outbreak of dengue as hundreds and thousands of patients are reporting daily at government and private hospitals. The dengue cases this year are 50% higher than last year. With 584,246 people in camps throughout the country, the health crisis could wreak havoc if it will go unchecked,” Pakistan’s climate minister Sherry Rehman said Monday.

Rehman warned the country was now facing the prospect of massive food shortages, owing to the destruction of up to 70% of staple crops such as rice and maize, and urgently needed “food, tents and medicines.”

United Nations’ Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on a 2-day trip to Pakistan, visited several areas ravaged by floods. “Pakistan needs massive financial support. This is not a matter of generosity; it is a matter of justice,” he said.

Guterres said that the world needed to understand the impact of climate breakdown on low-income countries.

Floods caused by record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in Pakistan’s northern mountain regions are believed to be behind the floods.