Guterres describes heartbreak over Pakistan floods

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday described his heartbreak after witnessing Pakistan's devastating flooding last summer and urged rich nations to help invest in rebuilding the country.

Guterres' comments came as part of his opening remarks at a conference being hosted by the United Nations aiming to help Pakistan cope with the fallout of the flooding that killed more than 1,700 people and displaced about 8 million. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif joined Guterres in-person at the conference while other world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, took part virtually.

Countries were being asked to chip in to help Pakistan pull together an estimated $16.3 billion that's needed to help rebuild and recover from the disaster. Authorities in Pakistan hope about half of that funding need will come from the international community. Organizers hope the conference will underpin a recovery and build resilience and Pakistani authorities last week cited a U.N.-backed assessment that the total damage amounted to more than $30 billion.