Every year, Pakistan struggles to deal with the monsoon season, which lasts from around June to August. However, this year’s monsoons were especially dangerous because of global warming and the government’s lack of plan. In the past five weeks, almost 300 people have been killed because of these deadly monsoons, which are floods caused by heavy rain. They have also damaged the roads, highways, and more than 5,000 homes.
This flood happened just two years after another devastating flood hit in August 2020, which killed more than 40 people, and battered an already struggling with Covid-19. It took weeks for the water to drain out, and residents feared after this massive destruction that even a small rainfall could cause a flash flood.
According to The New York Times, “The severe damage from those floods and subsequent protest in Karachi pushed government officials to take steps to buffer the city against the yearly monsoons.”
Imran Khan, the Prime Minister at that time said he would repair the infrastructures, destroy the makeshift shelters and vendor stalls, and clean the drains from garbage. Unfortunately, two years later, nothing much has changed.
Most analysts blame Pakistan’s increasing monsoon devastation on a lack of government organization and consistency. Officials are not offering help or coordinating, and therefore, the lack of plans make these cities very vulnerable to damage. Another reason why there are an increasing amount of monsoons are because of global warming, which causes heavier rainfall.
“All of these problems stem from the city being poorly governed and exploited by multiple political parties vying for control of the city’s economic resources, but all failing to deliver basic services to its residents,” said Jumaina Siddiqui, Senior Program Officer for South Asia.
Link to Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/24/world/asia/pakistan-monsoon-floods.html
This flood happened just two years after another devastating flood hit in August 2020, which killed more than 40 people, and battered an already struggling with Covid-19. It took weeks for the water to drain out, and residents feared after this massive destruction that even a small rainfall could cause a flash flood.
According to The New York Times, “The severe damage from those floods and subsequent protest in Karachi pushed government officials to take steps to buffer the city against the yearly monsoons.”
Imran Khan, the Prime Minister at that time said he would repair the infrastructures, destroy the makeshift shelters and vendor stalls, and clean the drains from garbage. Unfortunately, two years later, nothing much has changed.
Most analysts blame Pakistan’s increasing monsoon devastation on a lack of government organization and consistency. Officials are not offering help or coordinating, and therefore, the lack of plans make these cities very vulnerable to damage. Another reason why there are an increasing amount of monsoons are because of global warming, which causes heavier rainfall.
“All of these problems stem from the city being poorly governed and exploited by multiple political parties vying for control of the city’s economic resources, but all failing to deliver basic services to its residents,” said Jumaina Siddiqui, Senior Program Officer for South Asia.
Link to Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/24/world/asia/pakistan-monsoon-floods.html
