Islamabad (Reuters) - Officials said that Hollywood actress and United Nations humanitarian Angelina Jolie made a surprise visit to one of the hardest-hit flooding areas in southern Pakistan on Tuesday as the death toll from months of ongoing floods rose to 1,559.
Television footage showed Jolie arriving at an airport in Karachi, the capital of the southern Sindh province, where floods since mid-June have killed 692 people and damaged hundreds of thousands of homes and displaced half a million people.

Later, she visited some of the flood-affected areas, according to local media.

According to the International Rescue Committee, a prominent international relief organization, Jolie is visiting Pakistan to support communities affected by the devastating floods.

No comment has been issued by the government regarding Jolie's visit to Dadu, one of the most affected areas where waterborne diseases have also caused the deaths of about 300 people since July. Doctors are currently trying to contain the outbreak of waterborne diseases among the flood survivors.

The visit comes as Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is visiting New York to attend the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Sharif will highlight in his speech the damage caused by climate change-related floods in the poor country.

Pakistan says the floods have caused $30 billion in damages to the country's economy.        

Edited by: Yusra Bamtarf