Pakistan Flood Damage Estimated at $9.5B

International lenders estimated floods in Pakistan this past summer caused $9.5 billion in damages.
Pakistan Flood Damage Estimated at $9.5B
Pakistani children, displaced by floods, eat food at a makeshift camp in Karachi. (Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)
10/13/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/pk104872015.jpg" alt="Pakistani children, displaced by floods, eat food at a makeshift camp in Karachi.  (Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)" title="Pakistani children, displaced by floods, eat food at a makeshift camp in Karachi.  (Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1813483"/></a>
Pakistani children, displaced by floods, eat food at a makeshift camp in Karachi.  (Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)
International lenders estimated floods in Pakistan this past summer caused $9.5 billion in damages, a government official said Wednesday.

This $9.5 billion was estimated by Asian Development Bank and the World Bank along with several Pakistani leaders. Pakistan was already relying on international loans before the flooding.

The United States, along with other nations, has already donated millions to the relief effort. Since then, U.S. officials have urged Pakistan to increase taxes to help alleviate reconstruction costs.

The $9.5 billion figure refers only to existing values of things such as roads, buildings, irrigation systems, etc., not what it will cost to replace them, said a government official familiar with the report, reported AP. The official requested to remain anonymous because the findings have yet to be made official.

The flooding began in the monsoon rain season late July. The unusually heavy rain began to inundate one-fifth of the country and affected some 20 million people, leaving millions homeless, according to the United Nations.

The catastrophe destroyed dozens of bridges throughout the country, more than 1.9 million homes were damaged or destroyed, and about 5.9 million acres of farmland were damaged.

Since the events of this disaster have unfolded relatively slowly, aid workers and those giving donations did not realize how bad it was right away. There also are concerns that corruption and inefficiency in Pakistan’s government may lead to squandered aid, AP reported.