Sherry Rehman: Monsoon rains ‘crisis of unimaginable proportions’ 

A third of Pakistan is under water as a result of flooding caused by record monsoon rains, Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman said Monday, calling it a “crisis of unimaginable proportions”.

Officials say at least 33 million people one in every seven Pakistanis have been affected by the floods. Which have killed 1,136 people since the monsoon began in June.

Vast parts of farmland in southern Sindh and western Balochistan provinces are now just landscapes of water. While in the north, roads and bridges have been washed away by raging mountain rivers.

“To see the devastation on the ground is really mind-boggling,” Rehman told AFP in an interview.

Also Read: Pakistan to be water scarce by 2025; says Sherry Rehman

“When we send in water pumps, they say ‘Where do we pump the water?’ It’s all one big ocean. There’s no dry land to pump the water out.”

Rehman said, “literally a third” of Pakistan was under water, describing it as akin to a dystopian movie.

Appeal for help

She also expected the death toll to rise as many areas in the north of the country, where dozens of rivers are still in full flood, remain cut off.

Rehman renewed the government’s appeal for international assistance, while also blaming major industrialized countries for their role in global warming.

Pakistan is responsible for less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but is eighth on a list compiled by the NGO Germanwatch of countries deemed most vulnerable to extreme weather caused by climate change.

“It’s time for the big emitters to review their policies. We have crossed what is clearly a threshold,” she said.