The estimated death toll is over 1200 in hard-hit flood-ravaged Pakistan. The flooding is a result of monsoon rains supercharged by global warming. This event is so catastrophic because more water vapor can be held in the atmosphere amplifying the impacts on our heating globe. A state of emergency has been declared, and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has appealed to the world for help for the people of the impoverished Islamic nation. Pakistan is one of many nations that will not be habitable due to a myriad of climate destruction.
As climate change is a threat multiplier, not only was record-breaking rainfall an issue, but “ construction in flood-prone areas, endemic corruption, lack of investment in infrastructure, scant regard for the environment and poor preparedness for natural disasters also exacerbate the problems when flooding happens.”
The flash flooding has had unrelenting devastation since June. In addition, thirty million have been displaced and thousands injured. Communications have been lost; roadways washed away have isolated millions from immediate rescue and humanitarian aid.
Many parts of Pakistan have become inaccessible, and rescuers are struggling to evacuate thousands of marooned people from flood-affected areas. Balochistan and Sindh provinces are the worst-affected areas.
Local media reported late on Saturday that the Kach dam near Ziarat city, 80 miles from Quetta, Balochistan’s capital, had broken due to heavy flooding – putting lives of local residents at risk. Other dams in the area have also reportedly been damaged.
There were also reports that protesters had blocked the Indus Highway, the only safe passage between Hyderabad and Karachi and northern Sindh and the rest of Pakistan at Naseerabad. The protesters claim the local lawmakers have endangered the population by diverting floodwater.
Three people were killed as a result of landslides and floods in Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and the authorities in Nowshera asked for immediate evacuations amid a “very high flood” in the Kabul River.
Videos shared on social media showed bridges, roads and hotels sinking into water and people running to evacuate their homes. The army has been called in for rescue help in the province.
Over twenty million people are now believed to be homeless: and winter is coming.
I don’t often mention a trigger warning in my diaries, as climate change is punishing and brutal; most people should know that by now. There is no sugarcoating the impacts; unrelenting climate terrorism shows no mercy to any caught in the brutality of climate upheaval. Referring to these events as biblical does an injustice to the catastrophe. That climate has long since passed. We have entered a new period of disasters that has only just begun.
The embedded tweets below show the ferocity of the damage. While you watch, remember that Pakistan has had minimal greenhouse gas emissions.
You have been warned.