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The UN has launched an appeal for $459m (£290m) to help victims of Pakistan's flood disaster, which has affected at least 14 million people.
UN humanitarian chief John Holmes made the announcement at the organisation's headquarters in New York, saying the aid would cover the next 90 days.
The disaster was "one of the most challenging that any country has faced in recent years", Mr Holmes said.
So far, about 1,600 people have been killed by the monsoon floods.
Mr Holmes said the funds would be used for food, clean water, shelter and medical supplies.
The "emergency response plan" would be revised after 30 days as more information came in, he added.
Weather officials say the monsoon system over the Arabian Sea is weakening and there should be a break in the torrential rains for at least the next three days, though scattered rains are forecast.
The UK responded to the UN appeal by announcing it would supply aid to some 1.5 million people in Pakistan.
Four further plane loads of relief supplies will be sent, said the Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell.
It has been described as one of the biggest appeals in the UN's history in terms of the number of people who are in need, the BBC's Lyse Doucet reports from the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
With the monsoon season set to go on until the end of August and the mighty Indus river, swollen with floodwaters, moving steadily south, we still do not know how many Pakistanis will be affected in the end, our correspondent says.
'One in ten'
Mr Holmes pointed out that almost one in 10 of Pakistan's population had been affected by the floods and at least 6 million were in need of immediate humanitarian aid.
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Pakistan's government had led the response to the floods by initiating rescue and relief operations and evacuating hundreds of thousands of people but could not cope on its own, Mr Holmes argued.
"While the death toll may be much lower than in some major disasters... it is clear that this disaster is one of the most challenging that any country has faced in recent years," he added.
"That is why the international humanitarian community has been asked to support the response by covering gaps where the needs inevitably exceed the government's response capacity."
Speaking during a conference call from Islamabad, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Pakistan, Martin Mogwanja, said there was a danger that the number of dead would increase dramatically if action was not taken to stop the spread of disease following the flooding.
High levels of gastroenteritis and water-borne diseases such as scabies were already being noticed, he said.
"There are literally millions of people tonight in Pakistan who are sleeping out in the open on high ground, maybe with a few personal belongings that they could save if the warnings came in time but many millions more not having adequate shelter, not even a tent or a piece of plastic sheeting," he added.
"We need to expand this response radically and very, very fast."
Cities threatened
Enraged survivors have been physically attacking government officials in flood-hit areas, amid widespread anger at the slow pace of the relief effort.
The battle against the floods continued across all of Pakistan's provinces on Wednesday:
"It is going to put us back so many years that we're not even starting on the infrastructure," he said.
From BBC NEWS
UN humanitarian chief John Holmes made the announcement at the organisation's headquarters in New York, saying the aid would cover the next 90 days.
The disaster was "one of the most challenging that any country has faced in recent years", Mr Holmes said.
So far, about 1,600 people have been killed by the monsoon floods.
Mr Holmes said the funds would be used for food, clean water, shelter and medical supplies.
The "emergency response plan" would be revised after 30 days as more information came in, he added.
Weather officials say the monsoon system over the Arabian Sea is weakening and there should be a break in the torrential rains for at least the next three days, though scattered rains are forecast.
The UK responded to the UN appeal by announcing it would supply aid to some 1.5 million people in Pakistan.
Four further plane loads of relief supplies will be sent, said the Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell.
It has been described as one of the biggest appeals in the UN's history in terms of the number of people who are in need, the BBC's Lyse Doucet reports from the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
With the monsoon season set to go on until the end of August and the mighty Indus river, swollen with floodwaters, moving steadily south, we still do not know how many Pakistanis will be affected in the end, our correspondent says.
'One in ten'
Mr Holmes pointed out that almost one in 10 of Pakistan's population had been affected by the floods and at least 6 million were in need of immediate humanitarian aid.
“Start Quote
There are literally millions of people tonight in Pakistan who are sleeping out in the open on high ground”
End Quote Martin Mogwanja UN humanitarian coordinator in Pakistan "The floodwaters have devastated towns and village, downed power and communications lines, washed away bridges and roads and inflicted major damage to buildings and houses," he said.Pakistan's government had led the response to the floods by initiating rescue and relief operations and evacuating hundreds of thousands of people but could not cope on its own, Mr Holmes argued.
"While the death toll may be much lower than in some major disasters... it is clear that this disaster is one of the most challenging that any country has faced in recent years," he added.
"That is why the international humanitarian community has been asked to support the response by covering gaps where the needs inevitably exceed the government's response capacity."
Speaking during a conference call from Islamabad, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Pakistan, Martin Mogwanja, said there was a danger that the number of dead would increase dramatically if action was not taken to stop the spread of disease following the flooding.
High levels of gastroenteritis and water-borne diseases such as scabies were already being noticed, he said.
"There are literally millions of people tonight in Pakistan who are sleeping out in the open on high ground, maybe with a few personal belongings that they could save if the warnings came in time but many millions more not having adequate shelter, not even a tent or a piece of plastic sheeting," he added.
"We need to expand this response radically and very, very fast."
Cities threatened
Enraged survivors have been physically attacking government officials in flood-hit areas, amid widespread anger at the slow pace of the relief effort.
The battle against the floods continued across all of Pakistan's provinces on Wednesday:
- In Sindh province, tens of thousands of displaced people have been flocking to Sukkur city - itself under threat from rising water levels - while the city of Hyderabad is under threat from a wave expected to hit Kotri Barrage on the Indus river in the next 24 to 48 hours
- Fresh floods in Punjab province - upstream of Guddu - caused hundreds of thousands of people to move to safer areas, in many cases for the second time in as many weeks, while Muzaffargarh, a city of 700,000 people, was evacuated
- In Balochistan province, officials say rains and floods have killed at least six people in Ziarat, Harnai and Loralai areas. Officials say that hundreds of people in these areas are trapped
- Pakistani and US helicopters are running sorties as part of a rescue and relief effort in northern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
"It is going to put us back so many years that we're not even starting on the infrastructure," he said.
From BBC NEWS
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