The monsoon rains causing massive flooding across Pakistan are “unprecedented in the last 30 years”, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.
“There is an ocean of floodwater everywhere,” the premier said as he toured badly hit areas in the north to direct relief operations.
A huge relief operation was under way on Monday and international aid began trickling in as Pakistan struggled to deal with monsoon flooding that has affected more than 33 million people.
Officials said 1,136 people have died since June when the seasonal rains began, but the final toll could be higher as hundreds of villages in the mountainous north have been cut off by flood-swollen rivers washing away roads and bridges.
The annual monsoon is essential for irrigating crops and replenishing lakes and dams across the Indian subcontinent, but it can also bring destruction.
Officials said this year’s flooding has affected more than 33 million people – one in seven Pakistanis – destroying or badly damaging nearly a million homes.