UN Special Envoy Angelina Jolie urges world to ‘do more’ for Pakistan’s flood victims

ISLAMABAD (AA) – Angelina Jolie, a top Hollywood actress and special envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, has urged the international community to do more as millions of people are in trouble in the flood-hit areas of Pakistan.

During her visit to the National Flood Response Coordination Centre (NFRCC) late Wednesday, Jolie said that she has never seen anything like this disaster before.

“Many times, I came here because of the generosity that Pakistani people have shown to the people of Afghanistan over the years as a host country. Now this time we see the countries causing less damage to the environment are bearing the brunt of the disaster and the pain and the death,” Jolie said while speaking at the NFRCC.

Monsoon season in Pakistan, like in other countries in the region, usually results in heavy rains, but this year has been the wettest since 1961. Currently, one-third of the country is under water as the massive rains and melting glaciers have caused the country’s main Indus River to overflow, inundating vast swaths of plains, and farms.

So far, over two million houses have been damaged, with 803,400 houses completely destroyed and 1.21 million houses partially damaged. Over one million livestock perished across the South Asian country.

The destructive floods affected millions of people in 81 districts across the country and thousands of them are living in tents.

Destructive rains and floods have also washed away 13,093 kilometers (8,135 miles) of roads, 392 bridges and buildings across the South Asian nuclear country, which is already grappling with political and economic turmoil.