The devastation from the recent monsoon rains in Balochistan and Sindh are an eerie reminder of the floods that overran the country’s agriculture sector and economy in 2022.
At least 19 people were killed, 11 injured, and over 3,000 were affected as the ongoing monsoon rains, which began on July 1, continued to wreak havoc across various parts of Balochistan on Monday. The deaths in Balochistan are part of a larger wave of monsoon related destruction. Data from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) shows that from July 1 to August 17, 195 people have been killed and 362 injured across the country due to rain-related incidents, while 2,293 houses have been damaged.
The scenario was also quite dreary in Sindh, where heavy rains and urban flooding in Sukkur and other cities of Sindh have prompted the provincial administration to move government machinery for relief operations in the affected areas. There was also heavy urban flooding in Karachi.
One would do well to remember that Pakistan has only two years ago undergone massive floods caused by climate change. The two provinces saw the highest amount of water fall from the skies in living memory, recording 522 and 469 per cent more than the normal downpour this year according to the met department.
The effects on the entire country were very clear. The floods that ensued have still not been recovered from. Farmers have not had their lands go back to normal and Pakistan is not close to achieving normalcy. All of this is because weather patterns are changing to a degree that we have never experienced before. Areas that experience extreme water shortages are flooded within days. The rules are changing fast, and Pakistan needs to keep up with international financiers to create an environment in which they can mitigate the effects of the climate crisis. The response must go much farther than simple responses from disaster management agencies, because the problem is much larger than anyone understands.
