Flood Situation in Pakistan to Worsen as Country's South Braces For More Water

Floods have inundated a third of Pakistan, destroying at least one million homes. Rain-related incidents have also claimed 1,191 lives and made 30 million people homeless in the South Asian country. The United Nations has dubbed it an "unprecedented climate catastrophe."

The flood situation in southern Pakistan, including in the worst-hit Sindh province, is set to worsen as water from the Indus River from up north is expected to reach down south in the next couple of days, the provincial government's spokesperson said.

"We're on a high alert as water arriving downstream from northern flooding is expected to enter the province over the next few days," Murtaza Wahab, the spokesman for the province's administration told Reuters.

Wahab declared that as per the Sindh government's estimates, Indus is on course to receive 600,000 cubic feet of water every second beginning Thursday, making its flood defenses vulnerable to a breach.

Pakistan has witnessed a massive surge in monsoon rains compared to its annual average during the June-August period in the past 30 years.

The South Asian nation has faced a total of 390.7mm of rainfall in the last three months - a staggering jump of 190% compared to statistics from the previous three decades.

The southern province of Sindh, which has a population of 50 million, has been the worst affected, receiving 466% more monsoon showers compared with the average of the last 30 years.

A few areas of Sindh are also flooded, with even choppers from the Pakistan Air Force failing to find dry patches of land to deliver relief material there.

Across the country, the rising floodwaters have submerged homes, factories, and other critical infrastructure like roads and railways.

Moreover, around two million acres of cultivable land is currently underwater.

The economic impact of the floods has been estimated at $10 billion by the Pakistan government.

The country's National Disaster Management Authority mentioned that 480,030 people are living in relief camps after their homes were damaged in the torrential rains.

Meanwhile, the UN children's agency has appealed for humanitarian assistance, claiming that the lives of more than three million children are at risk.

"More than three million children are in need of humanitarian assistance and at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning, and malnutrition due to the most severe flooding in Pakistan's recent history," it said in a statement.