thousands of residents asked to evacuate their homes due to the monsoon

The damage multiplies. Thousands of people living near flooded rivers in northern Pakistan were ordered to evacuate their homes on Saturday (August 27th) after devastating monsoon rains had already claimed nearly 1,000 lives. Many rivers in the province of Khyber Pahktunkhwa (north of the country) – crossed by mountains and steep valleys – overflowed and destroyed dozens of buildings, including a 150-room hotel washed away by raging waters.

The monsoon, which usually lasts from June to September, is essential for the irrigation of plantations and to replenish the water resources of the Indian subcontinent. But it also brings its share of drama and destruction each year. More than 33 million people – one in seven Pakistanis – have been affected by the floods and nearly a million homes have been destroyed or severely damaged, according to the government. “The house we had built after years of hard work disappeared before our eyes”lamented Junaid Khan, 23, owner of two fish farms in Charsadda (north-west Pakistan). “We sat on the side of the road and watched our dream house sink”he added to AFP.

Authorities say the weather is comparable to that of 2010, when 2,000 people were killed and nearly a fifth of the country was submerged by rain. Pakistan is particularly vulnerable to climate change. It is in 8th position of the countries most threatened by extreme weather phenomena, according to a study by the NGO Germanwatch.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), since the start of the monsoon in June, floods have ravaged more than 80,000 hectares of crops, destroyed 3,100 kilometers of roads and washed away 149 bridges. The floods come at the worst time for Pakistan, whose economy is collapsing and which has been in deep political crisis since Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted in April following a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly .