[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
|
World News See other World News Articles Title: "Monster monsoon" season could leave a third of the country underwater Islamabad — Authorities in Pakistan issued an emergency appeal for international humanitarian aid as the death toll from 2022's "monster monsoon" season soared over 1,000. Flooding from weeks of torrential rain has left hundreds of thousands of people homeless across the south Asian nation, which was already reeling from a deep economic crisis. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari warned Sunday night that the flooding brought by this year's extreme monsoon rains, in addition to meltwater running down from Pakistan's glaciers, would exacerbate the country's economic woes and that financial aid would be needed. "I haven't seen destruction of this scale. I find it very difficult to put into words," he said. "It is overwhelming." pakistan-flooding-1242796794.jpg A man pushes his child through a flooded area after heavy monsoon rains in Charsadda district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, August 29, 2022. ABDUL MAJEED/AFP/Getty According to Bhutto-Zardari, at least 30 million people out of Pakistan's total population of 220 million have been affected in some way by the flooding. Lives and homes lost to the floods At least 1,061 people have been killed amid the deluges that began with the seasonal monsoon rains in mid-June, and that toll is set to rise further as many communities in the mountainous northern regions remain cut off by flood-swollen rivers that washed away roads and bridges. Army helicopters were struggling to pluck people cut off by raging torrents up to safety in the north, where steep hills and valleys make for treacherous flying conditions. Many rivers in the region — which is a picturesque tourist destination when there aren't monsoon rains — have burst their banks, sweeping away scores of buildings including a 150-room hotel that crumbled into a raging torrent. The swollen Swat River forced tens of thousands of people in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to flee their homes and seek shelter in relief camps set up in government buildings. But with so many displaced, provincial government spokesperson Kamran Bangash said many people were just camped out on roadsides, desperate to avoid the flooding wherever they could find higher ground. Bangash said some 330,000 people had been evacuated from villages in the districts of Charsadda and Nowshehra alone. The devastation has also been intense in the southern provinces of Balochistan and Sindh. Pakistan floods death toll passes 1000. Pakistani flood victims wade through flood water after monsoon rains in Matiari, Sindh province, Pakistan, August 29, 2022. Shakeel Ahmad/Anadolu Agency/Getty Bhutto-Zardari said at least 1 million tents were among the aid items needed most urgently, to temporarily house those left homeless by the inundations. Pakistan underwater Pakistan's climate minister has warned that a third of the country could be underwater by the time this year's "monster monsoon" flooding recedes. Pakistan is hit, on average, with three or four spells of monsoon rains per season, but this year has been wicked. The country is currently in the grips of its eighth spell of relentless rainfall of the summer. "We could well have one fourth or one-third of Pakistan underwater," Sherry Rehman, a Pakistani senator, said on Sunday. Poster Comment: Rural areas can soak up a lot of water if they have sufficient soil biology. But Pakistan is too hot. At high temps plants stop feeding soil biology. I saw a project in Jordan where they used shade trees to grow food underneath. Every 1% increase in Organic Matter (leaves, dead roots) allows your field to store an extra 25,000 gallons of water per acre. That would be 250,000 gallons per acre for a 10 inch rainfall. Pakistan added 194 million people to its population since Independence in 1947. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 4.
#2. To: Horse (#0)
(Edited)
I wonder if the Pakistani government has food and water enough to go around for this many refugees? ;)
No. No country has that many food reserves. Biden is selling our food to China so we don't have it.
No. Joe Biden is GIVING our food to China. There I fixed it for you.
There are no replies to Comment # 4. End Trace Mode for Comment # 4.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest |
||
|
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|
||