The Pakistan government has declared devastating floods a \u201cnational emergency\u201d after nearly 1,000 people died and more than 30 million are without shelter as monsoon rains continue to lash the South Asian nation.
At least 937 people have died since mid-June, including 343 children, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), with large swaths of the southwestern province of Balochistan remaining submerged, bringing back the memory of the devastating 2010 floods.
More than half of the casualties are from Balochistan and southern Sindh province where 234 and 306 people died respectively amid record rains that have affected half a million houses across the country.
Fida Hussain Shahani, a labourer from a remote village in Sindh, is grieving for his son who was swept away by the deluge.
\u201cYesterday, the flood water kept rising and entered our house. While trying to reach high ground, my 17-year-old son was left behind. I only managed to find his body this morning,\u201d Shahani said from Shahani village on Friday.
The 42-year-old says his family of 12 has not been provided with any relief or aid from the government and only volunteers came to his help.
He said the magnitude of this year\u2019s rains was unprecedented. \u201cThings were not so bad even in the 2010 floods. We never had to leave our village but this time, everything is destroyed,\u201d he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has postponed his official trip to the United Kingdom, as he appealed for funds from friendly countries and international institutions amid the worst flooding in decades.
\u201cThe ongoing rain spell has caused devastation across the country. The losses, though yet to be documented, are comparable to flash floods of 2010,\u201d Sharif tweeted, referring to the deadly 2010 floods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018War room\u2019 established Climate change is threat multiplier The Pakistan government has declared devastating floods a \u201cnational emergency\u201d after nearly 1,000 people died…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c59-islamic-world"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/strong>More than 100 districts across four provinces have been hit by the floods, with Balochistan\u2019s capital Quetta isolated from the rest of the country as many highways and bridges have been swept away by the deluge.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where nearly 200 people have been killed, rescue efforts were in full swing, particularly in the worst-hit areas of Swat and Dir.
\u201cIn northern KP [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] we are looking at Swat and Dir where we have flash floods situation arising, and with a lot of population on the banks, our focus is there,\u201d Muhammad Ali Saif, the spokesman for the province, told Al Jazeera. He added that Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts in the south of the province were also affected.
\u201cWe have managed to evacuate a large number of people, and provided them temporary accommodation in tents,\u201d he said.
According to the NDMA forecast, parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa might face \u201cvery high to an exceptionally high level of flooding\u201d in the next few days. Balochistan also faces the threat of more flash flooding.
The federal minister for climate change, Sherry Rehman, on Thursday said a \u201cwar room\u201d has been established at the NDMA headquarters in Islamabad to lead the relief efforts in the country.
Rehman added that \u201cmonstrous\u201d rainfall is making relief efforts difficult due to the inability of authorities to reach the affected areas.
\u201cPakistan is going through its 8th cycle of monsoon; normally the country has only three to four cycles of [monsoon] rain,\u201d the minister said during her news conference in Islamabad.
\u201cPakistan is under an unprecedented monsoon spell and data suggests the possibility of re-emergence of another cycle in September,\u201d she said.
Two of the worst-hit provinces \u2013 Balochistan and Sindh \u2013 have received 298mm and 689mm rains respectively this year, which is about 400 percent more than the 30-year average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, an Islamabad-based independent expert on climate change, said earlier floods were riverine in nature, but lack of development planning and climate change were causing the recent flood-related crisis in the country.
\u201cIn 2010, the floods were riverine in nature, which means they mostly impacted areas around the Indus River and they were mostly predictable. This time, there are multiple types such as urban flood, flash flooding and floods caused by glacier burst,\u201d he told Al Jazeera by telephone.
\u201cThe frequency of heavy flooding is also increasing. Climate change is a threat multiplier.
\u201cWhat we are seeing here in the country is development deficit. It is not only the excessive rain which is causing the issue, but rather the inadequate preparation and infrastructure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"