ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- The number of people affected by devastating flooding in Pakistan rose to 6 million people, the United Nations said Monday.
The international organization also expressed concern that hundreds of thousands of people are stranded and unable to get aid, Martin Mogwanja, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Pakistan, said in a release.
U.N. officials said they revised earlier estimates of 4 million people affected by the monsoon-triggered flooding after receiving estimates by the provincial authorities for Baluchistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Pakistani officials said more than 1,600 people have been killed so far.
"Things will probably get worse, before they start getting better," Mogwanja said. "We are working at full speed to respond to the most urgent needs of the affected populations."
The flooding has reached the southern Pakistani province of Sindh, where hundreds of villages having been flooded. The protective bund, or embankment, at Torhi in the province's north was breached and several other protective barriers also were in danger of breaking.
"While comprehensive estimates are not yet available, it is certain that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, are being affected in this province," Dennis Bruhn, a U.N. disaster management expert who arrived in Sindh Monday, said.
Forecasts indicate the heavy rain will continue to fall in the province for at least three days.
Until the flooding recedes, it would be almost impossible to assess damage and deliver needed supplies to people in the hardest-hit areas, particularly in the northern areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
