Murtaza Hussain lives in Karachi, Pakistan, which has been known to have destructive floods during monsoon season. In early June, rain came pouring into the city, flooding homes, roads, and buildings.
The National Disaster Management Authority announced that over 280 people in the last five weeks have been killed by the flooding. Over the course of 20 years, Pakistan has lost almost 10,000 lives due to climate disasters and four billion dollars.
In Kararchi specifically, 31 people have lost their lives, one of which is Hussain’s neighbor. “It took us nearly two days to clean the water and get the house back to normal. There was no help from the government,” stated Hussain, “Every year, the government says there will be no flooding, but the problem is getting worse.”
The Karachi administrator, Murtaza Wahab, declared that the city’s sewerage infrastructure and drainage couldn’t handle the violent rain and that Karachi needs better infrastructure updates.
“The people of Karachi pay billions in taxes to the government but after every spell of rain, Karachi turns into a mess,” said the former mayor of Karachi, Wasim Akhtar, “Where is all the money that the provincial government gets from the federal government?”
However, this problem could be solved if it weren’t for poor government planning. “The government has learned no lessons from past disasters.” says Fazal Ali, who lives in a military-managed housing complex.
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s minister of climate change, expects things to get worse to coming years. Because of climate change, glaciers are melting, which causes flash floods. Ms. Rehman boldly said, “This is national disaster.”
The National Disaster Management Authority announced that over 280 people in the last five weeks have been killed by the flooding. Over the course of 20 years, Pakistan has lost almost 10,000 lives due to climate disasters and four billion dollars.
In Kararchi specifically, 31 people have lost their lives, one of which is Hussain’s neighbor. “It took us nearly two days to clean the water and get the house back to normal. There was no help from the government,” stated Hussain, “Every year, the government says there will be no flooding, but the problem is getting worse.”
The Karachi administrator, Murtaza Wahab, declared that the city’s sewerage infrastructure and drainage couldn’t handle the violent rain and that Karachi needs better infrastructure updates.
“The people of Karachi pay billions in taxes to the government but after every spell of rain, Karachi turns into a mess,” said the former mayor of Karachi, Wasim Akhtar, “Where is all the money that the provincial government gets from the federal government?”
However, this problem could be solved if it weren’t for poor government planning. “The government has learned no lessons from past disasters.” says Fazal Ali, who lives in a military-managed housing complex.
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s minister of climate change, expects things to get worse to coming years. Because of climate change, glaciers are melting, which causes flash floods. Ms. Rehman boldly said, “This is national disaster.”
