Islamabad, July 27, (dpa/GNA) – Rescuers in south-western Pakistan were scrambling on Wednesday, to reach thousands of families stranded in their villages, after the heaviest rains in recorded history, lashed the South Asian nation, heightening concerns about climate change.
Rescues were using army helicopters and boats to reach at least 50,000 families, marooned in remote areas in the province of Balochistan, after roads and bridges were destroyed by flash floods, provincial home minister Zia Langov said.
Several days of monsoon rains have battered Balochistan and the country’s most populous southern city, Karachi, inundating streets, blocking roads and forcing millions to look for dry ground.
The rains in Balochistan and Karachi are the heaviest in the recorded history of Pakistan, chief meteorologist Sardar Sarfraz said.
Army engineers and soldiers were assisting the rescuers in draining the water from flooded streets, and reaching stranded people, the military’s media wing said.
The death toll from the weeks of rains and flooding reached 340 on Wednesday, and was expected to rise, the national disaster management agency said.
The experts attribute the erratic rains and flooding to climate change. Some warned the county might continue to suffer without any tangible action.
Pakistan is ranked number eight in the list of counties, most vulnerable to climate change, despite contributing less than 1% of global carbon emissions. The country’s climate change minister, has called the threat from global warning an existential one.
GNA