Pakistan: Floods Kill at least 50 Since End of June

Facts

• On Friday, Pakistani officials reported that at least 50 people have been killed and 87 wounded since June 25 in monsoon-related flooding.¹
• The majority of the deaths — due to electrocution and building collapses — occurred in the eastern Punjab province. In the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, eight children were killed in a landslide. Officials are still searching for other children trapped in the debris.¹
• The Meteorological Department has warned of further rainfall across Pakistan in the coming days, with flash flooding expected near Punjab's major rivers.²
• Meanwhile, officials said on Friday that they were relocating people who live along the waterways.³
• South Asia reportedly receives 70% - 80% of its annual rainfall between June and September — a season that's crucial to agriculture and food security in the region but also causes a risk of landslides and flooding.³
• Last summer, over 1.7K people were killed, and millions of others were left without food and shelter when catastrophic floods battered a third of Pakistan.⁴

Sources: ¹Phys, ²DW, ³Guardian, and ⁴Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Guardian. Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions but is one of the most vulnerable countries to the extreme weather caused by global heating. More needs to be done to mitigate the harmful impacts of climate change before it is too late.
• Narrative B, as provided by PreventionWeb. While climate change may be a factor in increased rainfall in Pakistan, it is not the only issue. Local authorities are also to blame for not preparing their communities through infrastructure projects and education. Disasters occur when hazards like monsoons meet vulnerability. Poorly planned urbanization and the high number of people living near riverbanks have just made a bad situation worse.