Nearly 500,000 people are living in camps after losing their homes in flooding that has left one-third of Pakistan underwater, following unprecedented monsoon rains which have killed at least 1,130 people.
The rains which have wracked Pakistan since mid-June stopped this week, and floods in some areas are receding.
But Pakistanis in many parts of the country are still wading through waters that filled their homes and covered their streets.
In one of the worst single incidents of the flooding, at least 11 people died when a volunteer rescue boat evacuating 24 people capsized in the flood-swollen waters of the Indus River.
Several are still missing from the capsizing, which happened near near the southern city of Bilawal Pur, media reported.
Climate Minister Sherry Rehman and meteorologists told The Associated Press that further monsoon rains were expected in September.
Monsoons have hit earlier and more heavily than usual since the start of summer, officials say — most recently with massive rains last week that affected almost the whole country.
Pakistan is accustomed to monsoon rains and flooding, Ms Rehman said, but not like this.
"What we saw recently in the last eight weeks is unrelenting cascades of torrential rain that no monsoon has ever brought with it ever before," she said.
The heavy rains were the latest in a series of catastrophes that Ms Rehman said had been exacerbated by climate change, including heatwaves, forest fires, and glacial lake outbursts.
Since 1959, Pakistan has been responsible for only 0.4 per cent of the world's historic CO2 emissions.
The US has been responsible for 21.5 per cent, China for 16.5 per cent and the EU 15 per cent.
"Climate knows no borders and its effects can be disproportionately felt," Ms Rehman said.
"We're on the front line of a global crisis."
Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority said floods this summer had killed more than 1,136 people and injured 1,636, as well as damaging 1 million homes.
In addition to the 498,000 people living in relief camps, many more are believed to be living with relatives, friends, or outside.
International aid has started to flow into Pakistan, and the military is helping to distribute aid in remote areas and evacuate those left homeless.
The floods have destroyed more than 150 bridges and numerous roads have been washed away, making rescue operations difficult.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the rains so far had been the heaviest Pakistan had seen in three decades.
"I saw floodwater everywhere, wherever I went in recent days and even today," Mr Sharif said in the town of Charsadda in the north-east of the country.
Some 180,000 people in the town were evacuated after the Swat River overflowed and swamped nearby communities.
Mr Sharif said the government would provide housing to all those who lost their homes.
But many of the displaced have also lost crops and businesses.
"I am sitting with my family in a tent, and how can I go out to work? Even if I go out in search of a job, who will give me any job as there is water everywhere," said a flood victim in Charsadda.
Another said soldiers evacuated her by boat. She broke down in tears as she recounted how her house collapsed in the floods.
"We were given a tent and food by soldiers and volunteers," she said.
"Floodwater will recede soon, but we have no money to rebuild our home."
International relief efforts underway
At least 6,500 soldiers have been deployed to help, with military planes, helicopters, trucks and boats used to evacuate people and deliver aid.
Many displaced people complained they were still waiting for help, with some claiming they received tents but no food.
Pakistani authorities have said this year's devastation is worse than in 2010, when floods killed 1,700 people.
According to General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan's military chief, the country may take years to recover.
He appealed to Pakistanis living abroad to generously donate to the flood victims.
Cargo planes from Turkey and the United Arab Emirates began the flow of international aid, landing in Islamabad with tents, food, and other daily necessities.
The floods hit Pakistan at a time when the country faces one of its worst economic crises, narrowly avoiding a default.
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) executive board approved the release of a much-awaited $US1.17 billion for Pakistan.
Pakistan and the IMF originally signed the bailout accord in 2019, but the release had been on hold since earlier this year, when the IMF expressed concern about Pakistan's compliance with the deal's terms under the government of former prime minister Imran Khan.
The United Nations says it has allocated $US3 million for aid agencies and their partners in response to the floods, with money to be used for health, nutrition, food security, and water and sanitation services in flood-affected areas, focusing on the most vulnerable.
ABC/wires
