The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has said.
More than 1000 people have been killed - with millions more lives shattered. This colossal crisis requires urgent, collective action to help the Government & people of Pakistan in their hour of need, he said.
The Government of Pakistan estimates that around 33 million people across the country are affected by the rains, floods and consequent impacts such as landslides. More than 421,000 refugees living in calamity-declared districts are also affected or at risk. As of 27 August, some 6.4 million people are estimated to need of assistance. According to the NDMA, between 14 June and 27 August at least 1,033 people were killed and 1,527 people injured, with numbers increasing as rains continue.2 Over 287,000 houses have been destroyed and over 662,000 partially damaged. Livelihoods are also being heavily impacted – more than 719,000 livestock – a critical source of sustenance and livelihoods for many families – have died, of which some 69 per cent are in Balochistan and 28 per cent in Punjab. Around 2 million acres of crops and orchards have also been affected to date, of which 304,475 acres are in Balochistan, 178,186 acres in Punjab and around 1.54 million acres in Sindh, the UN said.
The humanitarian situation is being compounded by severe impacts on infrastructure. Damage to nearly 3,500 km of roads and 149 bridges has impeded the ability of people to flee to safer areas, as well as compromising the delivery of aid to people in need. Internet outages have also been reported, with the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority attributing widespread internet cuts in central and northern Pakistan on 19 August to technical faults in the fiberoptic network resulting from the heavy rains and floods. The humanitarian situation is likely to deteriorate further as heavy rains continue over areas already inundated by more than two months of storms and flooding. Flash floods and rain-induced landslides are compounded by the inability of existing infrastructure to cope with the extraordinary amount of water. Many rivers, including the Indus River which traverses the length of Pakistan, are at high flood warning level and/or have breached their banks, and major dam reservoirs are rapidly filling or already overflowing, posing further risk to people in the vicinity and downstream.
Pakistan is among the ten countries most affected by extreme weather events despite its very low carbon footprint, according to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021 and Climate Watch. While national efforts are underway to support people affected by the ongoing rains and floods, international solidarity is crucial to adequately address the impacts.