Devastating floods affect Pakistan
Pakistan
Wednesday 31 August 2022
FJ
A third of Pakistan is currently under water after monsoon rains that will cause a colossal amount of damage (Photo: dawn.com).
After the heat wave, the deluge hit Pakistan, of which about 1/3 of the territory is under water. These precipitations are the highest for more than 3 decades and will cause, according to the first estimates, more than 10 billion USD of damage.
Usually occurring from June to September, the monsoon is essential to Pakistan's agriculture to irrigate plantations and replenish water reserves. But this year, nationwide rainfall is 2.87 times higher than the national 30-year average, and some provinces received more than 5 times more rainfall than the observed 30-year average.
About 1/3 of the Pakistani territory is under water, more than 33 million people are affected in 116 districts of the country. The government has officially declared 66 districts 'disaster': 31 in Balochistan, 23 in Sindh, 9 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 3 in Punjab.
According to NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) approximately 2 million acres (809,371 hectares) of crops and orchards are impacted, particularly in Balochistan (123,024 hectares), Punjab (72,034 hectares) and Sindh (623,215 hectares). ).
It is still too early to draw up a complete assessment, but the human losses are already heavy (1,000 dead) and the first estimates point to a colossal amount of damage which could exceed 10 billion USD.
source : reliefweb.int, economictimes.indiatimes.com, dawn.com