By: Sarah Liu

In Karachi, Pakistan, monsoons and heavy flooding have killed almost 300 people in 5 weeks. Pakistan has always struggled with the monsoon season, but this year’s season has confirmed the faults in the government’s infrastructure.

Citizens have always been aware of monsoons, and their devastation. Back in 2020, it took weeks to repair the damage. Though $14 million was used to fix the infrastructure, it was not nearly enough.

Pakistan lost $4 billion and 10,000 lives between 1998 and 2018 to extreme weather. Karachi was already falling apart because of the lack of government service. Now, roads are rivers, and houses are sewers. Because 31 have been killed from drowning and electrocution, the power has also been shut off.

Other citizens took more fatal consequences. Danish, a carpenter, lost his wife and 2-year-old to drowning after riding into an open drain. He and his 3-year-old were rescued. But he says, “the government’s incompetence and people’s helplessness,” is the reason for the deaths. Another resident says, “there was no help from the government. Every year, the government says there will be no flooding, but the problem is getting worse.”

Wasim Akhtar, a former Karachi mayor, believes the provincial authorities are to blame. “The people of Karachi pay billions in taxes to the government but after every spell of rain, Karachi turns into a mess.” Yet, the chief minister, Mr. Shah, denied the criticism, turning the blame onto the rain.

Though analysts believe other factors contribute to the devastation, like climate change, each problem starts with poor governance. “Exploited by multiple political parties vying for control of the city’s economic resources, but all failing to deliver basic services to its residents,” said Jumaina Siddiqui, senior program officer for South Asia at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Pakistani citizens have been enduring one of the worst monsoon seasons. Though they experience something similar every year, it never ends. Like how an accountant feels, “the government has learned no lessons from past disasters.” Worse, the tolls Pakistan has taken are just the beginning as monsoon season still goes through August.

Link To Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/24/world/asia/pakistan-monsoon-floods.html