Straight Talk

Monster monsoon creates a calamity in Pakistan

by Charlie Smith on August 27th, 2022 at 11:14 AM
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      The number of Pakistanis affected by massive flooding is now approaching the population of all of Canada.

      According to NDMA Pakistan, which deals with disaster management, 33 million people are dealing with the catastrophe, which has been brought on by heavy rains. To date, estimated 1,000 people have lost their lives.

      Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has declared a national emergency as floodwaters submerged towns and washed away bridges and roads, particularly in southwestern Baluchistan and southern Sindh.

      More than 220 million people live in Pakistan, with about half in the province of Punjab.

      "The magnitude of the calamity is bigger than estimated," Sharif tweeted today.

      Sharif has called on the world to help Pakistan with donations.

      The national minister of climate change, Senator Sherry Rahman, has linked the "monster monsoon" to the climate crisis.

      Her Twitter feed shows images of a bridge that is flooded after being rebuilt higher after the horrific 2010 floods.

      She told the media that Sindh has received 784 percent more rainfall this month than the average for August; Baluchistan is 500 pecent higher than the norm for the month.

      There is also a tremendous amount of flooding in Punjab to the northeast.

      On August 26, BBC reported that the government of Pakistan had declared a national emergency.

      Former prime minister Imran Khan's Twitter feed includes pictures showing vast amounts of territory underwater.

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