In early June, the metropolitans of Karachi, Pakistan faced its greatest flood of the season due to poor government authority. Unfortunately, the food killed a total 282 people nationwide.
Pakistan’s monsoon season pummels the country from June through August every year.
However, this one was the most devasting. In addition to turning Pakistan into the modern-day equivalent of an unsanitary water park, damage to infrastructure was also one of the major impacts. Examples include transforming roads into rivers, houses into sewages and suspending electricity for hours and even days. “This is a national disaster,” said Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s minister for climate change. Rehman recorded this recent rainfall to be 87 percent heavier than the average downpour.
Many Pakistanis have relied on the government only to be left on their own. Murtaza Hussain, a textile worker, said, “It took us nearly two days to clean the water and get the house back to normal. There was no help from the government… Every year, the government says there will be no flooding, but the problem is getting worse.” Though the Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab stated improvement since 2020 as the government has begun to clear clogged drains and build new ones, evidence clearly shows that there is much more work to do.
Long ranked among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, Pakistan suffered about 10,000 deaths and a $4 billion loss due to climate change between 1998 and 2018 (A total of 20 years). Climate officials now warn the country to prepare for more damage as more flash floods is occurring due to the melting of glaciers.
This natural disaster distinctly points fingers at two of the world’s most major problems:
government and climate change. Famous climatologist John Muir once said, “God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.” It is critical for the government to take action and enact change when help is needed before it is too late. The opposite of this would annihilate the world we call home.
Link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/24/world/asia/pakistan-monsoon-floods.html
Pakistan’s monsoon season pummels the country from June through August every year.
However, this one was the most devasting. In addition to turning Pakistan into the modern-day equivalent of an unsanitary water park, damage to infrastructure was also one of the major impacts. Examples include transforming roads into rivers, houses into sewages and suspending electricity for hours and even days. “This is a national disaster,” said Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s minister for climate change. Rehman recorded this recent rainfall to be 87 percent heavier than the average downpour.
Many Pakistanis have relied on the government only to be left on their own. Murtaza Hussain, a textile worker, said, “It took us nearly two days to clean the water and get the house back to normal. There was no help from the government… Every year, the government says there will be no flooding, but the problem is getting worse.” Though the Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab stated improvement since 2020 as the government has begun to clear clogged drains and build new ones, evidence clearly shows that there is much more work to do.
Long ranked among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, Pakistan suffered about 10,000 deaths and a $4 billion loss due to climate change between 1998 and 2018 (A total of 20 years). Climate officials now warn the country to prepare for more damage as more flash floods is occurring due to the melting of glaciers.
This natural disaster distinctly points fingers at two of the world’s most major problems:
government and climate change. Famous climatologist John Muir once said, “God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.” It is critical for the government to take action and enact change when help is needed before it is too late. The opposite of this would annihilate the world we call home.
Link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/24/world/asia/pakistan-monsoon-floods.html
