Senator Sherry Rehman, the federal minister for climate change, has issued a call for immediate humanitarian aid and rescue efforts to help the people of Pakistan recover from the recent flooding.
Rehman estimated at a briefing on the current flood emergency the death toll from the torrential rains, which have caused widespread flash flooding, to be as high as 830.
A monsoon system has moved from Balochistan, flooding 30 districts in Sindh. She reported that the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan respectively saw monsoon rainfall of 395 percent and 379 percent above normal. It’s a major climate disaster, and it could cause a humanitarian crisis on par with the 2010 flood, according to The News.
Sindh, the current epicentre of the disaster, has been flooded on both sides of the Indus. The 30 districts of Sindh and even Balochistan have been seriously affected by the speed and velocity of the water, and now people in south Punjab are feeling the effects of these floods. Livestock and crops have been destroyed, and people are scattered. According to Sherry, the monsoon has caused a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented proportions.
There is absolutely no way that the provinces, or even Islamabad, can handle this level of climate catastrophe on their own. Thousands of people have lost their homes and their lives are in danger. The international community needs to rally support. High water levels in the Indus are predicted to cause a flow of over 600,000 cusecs to cross the Guddu and then the Sukkur Barrages on August 23 and 24, 2022, respectively. This will flood the entire Katcha area along the Indus, forcing the relocation of thousands of people.
