RE:Sign of the Times "This year, precipitation in some regions was 600 percent higher than average."
"Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Sunday he hoped financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund would take the economic fallout into account. The South Asian nation has been battling an economic crisis, facing high inflation, a depreciating currency and a current account deficit.”
"Millions of Pakistanis affected by the worst flooding in a decade are in desperate need of aid as authorities say they have been “overwhelmed” by the scale of the disaster, with the country’s climate minister calling it a “serious climate catastrophe”.
The unprecedented monsoon season has affected all four provinces of the country. Nearly a million homes have been destroyed or badly damaged, numerous roads rendered impassable and electricity outages have been widespread, affecting at least 33 million people."
“The NDMA said more than 809,000 hectares (two million acres) of cultivated crops have been wiped out, 3,451 kilometres (2,150 miles) of roads destroyed, and 149 bridges washed away.”
“Finance Minister Miftah Ismail earlier told Al Jazeera that the floods have inflicted an estimated “loss of at least $10bn” in the country.”
““Our crop spanned over 5,000 acres on which the best quality rice was sown and is eaten by you and us,” Khalil Ahmed, 70, told AFP. “All that is finished.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/28/pakistan-monsoon-flooding-death-toll-tops-1000
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/29/catastrophic-flooding-overwhelms-pakistan
As tragic as the loss of life with these floods the threat to survival doesn’t end when the waters recede. Poorer nations lack the resources to rebuild infrastructure. Pakistan has 2000 miles of road destroyed and 150 bridges, and nearly a million homes lost.
We understand that as the Earth warms, the threat of massive flooding will increase. However, many poor nations lack the resources to constantly repair and rebuild infrastructure following another weather event.
“The excessive damage of crops has already led to rising concerns over food security. Pakistan is now even looking at importing onions and tomatoes from India. Pakistan is cash starved and now the floods have caused havoc and while aids are pouring in, the impact on the country’s economy will be significant as it has little elbow room to expand its expenses,” an analyst with a research outfit told India Narrative.
For the week ended August 25, Pakistan’s weekly inflation touched a record high of 44.58 per cent year-on-year driven by rising prices for 23 essential items which include vegetables, rice, eggs and pulses among other things. In the previous week it was 42.3 per cent.
https://www.indianarrative.com/economy-news/pakistanis-fear-hunger-pangs-after-massive-floods-damage-crops-43490.html
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