The images are appalling in Pakistan: in the north, muddy and furious torrents cross the villages, carrying away absolutely everything in their path: cars, bridges, houses. Buildings collapse, engulfed in seconds. Further south is desolation: the plains have become endless lakes from which barely a few trees emerge. Not a patch of dry land for miles around. We are talking about 10 million displaced people.
We ask Allah to preserve Pakistan from instability, from its punishments, and that he grants martyrdom to the dead and patience to the families
The floods caused:
The collapse of more than 210 bridges
more than 1,115 dead
+ 10 million displaced. pic.twitter.com/7azoRQWpfV—Minhaj An-Nubuwwah (@AnMinhaj) August 27, 2022
The floods have also ravaged crops: according to some estimates, half of the rice and cotton harvests have disappeared. According to the authorities, 33 million people are affected, almost one in seven.
Climate change is identified as the main cause of the disaster. The country first experienced a record drought in the spring, then the monsoon brought exceptional rains. + 400% for example in the province of Balochistan. Such a phenomenon had already occurred in 2010, there had been 2,000 deaths, a fifth of the land had been found under water. It was then the worst disaster the country had ever known. But “it’s the new normal. We will have to adapt“, says Sherry Rheman.
“We’re at this ground zero of a climate dystopia.”
Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman tells @cathynewman extreme weather events are “the new normal”.https://t.co/vfxPf4XY8p
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) August 28, 2022
For the Pakistani minister for climate change, interviewed on the British channel Channel 4, “the world must understand that we have passed a critical point. This is the tragedy of this century. We face threats we never thought possible“.
According to the global climate risk index, compiled by the NGO Germanwatch, Pakistan is in eighth place among the countries most vulnerable to extreme weather events. A fragility aggravated by corruption which has left thousands of buildings to be built in flood-prone areas.
The country in any case will not be able to cope alone. The economy is already shaky, with a plummeting local currency and runaway inflation (44% last week). Islamabad is negotiating a rescue plan with the IMF.
L’#Saudi Arabia delivers third batch of humanitarian aid to flood victims in Pakistan.
The aid comprising 10,000 food baskets weighing 950 tonnes loaded onto 100 trucks, benefiting 70,000 people. pic.twitter.com/lz9zEu8Yum
— Saudi News FR (@SaudiNewsFR) August 23, 2022
The government has requested international assistance, the UN should launch an appeal this Tuesday, August 30. Several countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia or the United Kingdom have already announced that they will send funds. Even Pope Francis yesterday called for “international cooperation“.