General view of submerged houses after rain and flooding during monsoon season at Dera Alah Yar, Yafferabad district, Pakistan on September 1, 2022. (Reuters)
Dadu, Pakistan: Amid a growing disaster blamed on climate change, a surge in water flowing through the Indus River has forced southern Pakistan to prepare for more flooding, wreaking further devastation in a country already one-third submerged. threatening.
According to the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in northern mountains caused flooding that killed at least 1,208 people, including 416 children.
The Meteorological Agency of Pakistan predicts even more rain and flash flooding in September.
“Overall, precipitation in September is likely to be on a normal-to-above-normal trend nationwide,” the agency said in a monthly outlook posted on its website on Thursday.
Northeastern Punjab and southern Sindh are expected to experience more rain than usual, adding that isolated heavy rains could trigger flash floods.
The military said on Thursday it had evacuated about 50,000 people by air since relief efforts began, including 1,000.
A man carries a motorcycle in a boat through floodwaters after monsoon season rains and floods in Janggala village, Sehwan, Pakistan, on September 1, 2022. (REUTERS/Yasir Rajput)
The United Nations has sued $160 million to help with what it calls an “unprecedented climate catastrophe”.The UK on Thursday pledged $17 million in aid.
Sindh government spokesman Murtaza Wahab told Reuters: “We are on high alert as water reaching downstream from the floods in the north is expected to enter the state within days.”
Wahab said about 600,000 cubic feet (17,000 cubic meters) of flow per second is expected to inflate the Indus and test its flood defenses.
Pakistan received nearly 190% more precipitation in the June-August quarter than the 30-year average, totaling 390.7 mm (15.38 inches).
The province of Sindh, with a population of 50 million, has been the hardest hit, with 466% more rainfall than the 30-year average.
Some parts of the state look like an inland sea, with only the occasional tree or raised road splitting into murky floodwaters.
Hundreds of families have taken refuge in the roads, the only dry land many see. Villagers rushed to see Reuters News his team passing by his one road near the town of Daito on Thursday, asking for food and other help.
Many are heading to urban centers, such as the port city of Karachi, which has so far escaped flooding.
Flood victims reach out for food aid while taking refuge in higher ground after monsoon season rainfall and flooding in Janggala village, Sehwan, Pakistan, September 1, 2022. (REUTERS/Yasir Rajput)
“We lost our home in the rain and floods. We are going to Karachi where we are with relatives. No one came to help us,” said 50-year-old Allah Bakash with his family. I said as I loaded my belongings into the truck.
Floods washed away homes, businesses, infrastructure and roads. Standing and stored crops were destroyed and about 2 million acres (810,000 ha) of farmland were flooded.
According to the government, 33 million people, or 15% of the population of 220 million, have been affected.
The National Disaster Management Agency said about 480,030 people have been displaced from their homes and are being cared for in camps, but even those who have not been displaced face danger.
“Pakistan’s most severe floods in recent history have left more than 3 million children in need of humanitarian assistance, increasing the risk of water-borne diseases, drowning and malnutrition,” said the United Nations Children’s Agency. warned.
The World Health Organization said more than 6.4 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Aid is starting to arrive on planes loaded with food, tents and medical supplies, mostly from China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
Aid agencies are urging the government to allow food imports from neighboring India across the largely closed border, which has been at the forefront of conflict between nuclear-armed rivals.
The government has shown no intention of opening its borders to food imports from India.
Britain’s Foreign Minister Liz Truss said on Thursday it had donated £15m ($17.4m) to be used to provide water, sanitation, shelter and protect women and girls.
