US Joint of Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, has said that he was taken aback by the magnitude of the flooding in Pakistan and that sustained international help was needed in the recovery efforts.

"I think it is going to take a considerable amount of time to recover from that," the Daily Times quoted Mullen as saying.

Mullen, who had a first-hand glimpse of the vast devastation caused by the massive floods in Pakistan, said that news coverage could not possible convey the massive scale of the disaster.

"The pictures (and) reporting just do not capture it," he said.

Mullen visited the flood-affected regions with Pakistan army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani.

A briefing slide shown by Kayani helped him get a clear idea of the scale of the calamity, he said.It said that effectively, it is like flooding the entire East Coast of the US," Mullen added.

Mullen was told that 70,000 personnel of the Pakistani military were engaged in the flood relief efforts.

When he asked if there was any increase in terrorist activity, he was informed that no significant outbreaks had occurred. (ANI)