Satellite images show that a third of Pakistan is submerged due to floods - See pics

London: New satellite images taken by the European Space Agency (ESA) show that a third of Pakistan is now under water. The European Space Agency (ESA) released stark images based on data captured by its Copernicus satellite. The images appear to confirm the Pakistani government`s assessment that more than a third of the country, an area roughly the size of the UK has been submerged by monsoon rainfall, estimated to have been 10 times more severe than usual, the report said.

"The Indus River has overflowed, effectively creating a long lake, tens of kilometres wide," ESA said in a statement. The floods have claimed more than 1,100 lives, including 399 children, destroyed more than a million homes and swept away crops, livestock and major infrastructures such as roads and bridges.

On Thursday, Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the DEC, the umbrella organisation for 15 leading UK aid charities, implored the British public to help. "Time is critical, with conditions expected to get worse as the rains continue. We are urging everyone: please give whatever you can," he said.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, this year`s monsoon is already the country`s wettest since records began in 1961, and the season still has one month to go.

In both Sindh and Balochistan provinces, rainfall has been 500 per cent above average, engulfing entire villages and farmland, razing buildings and wiping out crops. While mostly dry weather is expected in the region in the coming days, experts say the water will take days to recede.

(With IANS inputs)