The World Bank has agreed to provide USD 900 million financial aid to Pakistan which has been hit by devastating floods affecting 14 million people and leading to crop loss estimated at USD 1 billion.

“The Government of Pakistan has requested around USD 900 million of financial support from the World Bank, which we have committed to provide,” the World Bank said in statement.

The current floods have claimed over 1700 lives and affected over 14 million people.

The affected area covers 132,421 km, including 1.4 million acres of cropped land.

Continuing rains have caused additional flooding and hindered relief activities.

The scale of destruction exceeds that of the 2005 earthquake.

“The economic cost is expected to be huge,” the Bank said.

Preliminary information indicates that direct damage from floods was greatest in the housing (current estimates are that 723,000 houses have either been destroyed or damaged), roads, irrigation, and agriculture sectors.

The funding for this would come from the Bank’s Fund for the Poorest (the International Development Association, IDA) through reprogramming of currently planned projects and reallocation of undisbursed funds from ongoing projects.

On 11th August, Pakistan had asked the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to undertake a Damages and Needs Assessment in the flood-hit areas, and the United Nations (UN) the Early Recovery Needs Assessment.

The World Bank, the ADB, and the UN will collaborate through participation and sharing of information on their respective assessments, and will also regularly coordinate with key donors.

The Bank and ADB have mobilised staff and a Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) rapid response team arrived in Islamabad on Friday last to help launch the assessment.

“If there is no fresh wave of flooding, the assessment can be completed by 15TH October,” the Bank said.

The full impact on soil erosion and agriculture could only be assessed when the water recedes, by mid-September.

A grant of USD USD 1.3 million has also been made available by the GFDRR to support the Damage Needs Assessment, rescue and relief efforts, and to strengthen disaster management and longer term disaster risk reduction.