Pakistani engineers and troops cleared a key highway Thursday that will enable aid workers to speed supplies to survivors of devastating floods that have left thousands homeless and killed 1,486 people.
Traffic between the flood-hit city of Quetta and southern Sindh province remained suspended for weeks after floods damaged the key highway. The blockage had forced the military to deliver aid to victims by helicopters and boats.
The National Flood Response and Coordination Centre said the worst-ever deluge destroyed 390 bridges and washed away over 12,000 kilometers of roads across the country. The inundation of roads affected the government's response to floods, and people complained they were still waiting for the government’s help.
Initially, Pakistan estimated that the floods caused $10 billion in damages, but now multiple economists say the cost is more like $30 billion in damages. That's five times more than what Pakistan’s government will get under the 2019 bailout signed with the International Monetary Fund. On Wednesday, the U.N. resident coordinator in Pakistan, Julien Harneis, told reporters that the member states had committed so far $150 million in response to an emergency appeal for $160 million. So far, he said, $38 million pledges from the world community had been converted into assistance for Pakistan.
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