Following the incessant downpour in Pakistan, authorities there have warned it could take up to six months for deadly flood waters to recede in the country’s hardest-hit areas. This is amidst rise of fear over the threat posed by waterborne diseases including cholera and dengue.

Floods caused by record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in Pakistan’s northern mountain regions have so far claimed the lives of more than 1,400 people, and affected an estimated 33 million more, washing away homes, roads, railways, livestock and crops.

Damages are now expected to total more than $30 billion. Earlier estimate was put at around $10 billion.