Families waded through water and cattle were loaded onto boats in a mass evacuation of around 100,000 people in Pakistan's Punjab province, officials said Wednesday.
Several hundred villages and thousands of acres of cropland in the central province were inundated when the Sutlej river burst its banks on Sunday.
"The flood waters came a couple of days ago and all our houses were submerged. We walked all the way here on foot with great difficulty," 29 year-old Kashif Mehmood, who fled with his wife and three children to a relief camp, told AFP on Tuesday.
Rescue boats travelled from village to village over the past several days, collecting people forced to wait on the roofs of their homes as the water level rose around them.
Others pushed their motorcycles through shallower waters or held belongings above their heads until they found dry ground.
"There is five or six feet (1.5-1.8 metres) of water accumulated over the roads," Muhammad Amin, a local doctor volunteering at a relief camp, told AFP on Tuesday.
"The only route that could have been used to come and go is now under water. This 15- or 16-kilometre route is now being covered by boat so that we can rescue people."
Muhammad Aslam, Pakistan's chief meteorologist covering floods, said the river level was at its highest in 35 years.
"We have rescued 100,000 people and transferred them to safer places," Farooq Ahmad, spokesman for the Punjab emergency services, told AFP on Wednesday.
- Shared monsoon burden -
The head of Punjab's government, Mohsin Naqvi, said that monsoon rains had prompted authorities in India to release excess reservoir water into the Sutlej river, causing flooding downstream on the Pakistani side of the border.
India has seen severe monsoon rains this year, with more than 150 killed in rain-related incidents since July.
Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, a climate and water expert based in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, said the water levels in the Sutlej river had become so high that they were beyond India's storage capacity.
"There was no intention or maliciousness on the part of India. The water had to eventually flow downstream to Pakistan," he told AFP.
"Because in Pakistan we were monitoring the Indian monsoon quite closely, we were expecting and anticipating it, and therefore Punjab and Pakistani authorities had enough warning time to evacuate communities and to plan emergency response," he said, adding that both countries were facing a climate disaster.
Indian authorities did not respond to requests for comment.
The summer monsoon brings South Asia 70-80 percent of its annual rainfall between June and September every year.
It is vital for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and for food security in a region of around two billion people -- but it also brings landslides and floods that lead to frequent evacuations.
- 175 deaths -
More than 175 people have died in Pakistan in rain-related incidents since the monsoon season began in late June, mainly due to electrocution and buildings collapsing, emergency services have reported.
Pakistan was devastated by weeks of unprecedented floods last year that inundated nearly one-third of the country, but the central province of Punjab was largely spared the worst of the impact.
Large parts of Sindh and Balochistan are still recovering from the damage.
The Punjab disaster management agency has warned that forecasted monsoon rains could exacerb
ate the flooding in the coming days.
Scientists have said climate change is making seasonal rains heavier and more unpredictable.
Pakistan, which has the world's fifth-largest population, is responsible for less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to officials, but is highly vulnerable to extreme weather exacerbated by global warming.
Artificial Intelligence Analysis
Defense Industry Analyst: 8Stock Market Analyst: 6General Industry Analyst: 6Analyst Summary
:This article focuses on the severe flooding in Pakistan’s Punjab province due to the Sutlej river bursting its banks on Sunday, resulting in the evacuation of around 100 000 people. Rescue boats travelled from village to village over the past several days to collect people who were forced to wait on the roofs of their homes as the water level rose around them. Pakistans chief meteorologist covering floods reported that the river level was at its highest in 35 years. The head of Punjabs government, Mohsin Naqvi, attributed the flooding to monsoon rains in India, which has seen severe monsoon rains this year with more than 150 killed in rain related incidents since July.The article has significant implications for the defense industry, as it relates to the potential impact of climate change on defense and security strategies. This is particularly relevant in light of the fact that, over the past 25 years, there has been an increasing focus on addressing the implications of climate change for global security. Additionally, the article highlights the importance of understanding the implications of extreme weather events and how they may affect global security.The article has a moderate impact on the stock market, as the flooding in Punjab has not had a major effect on the stock market. However, the potential implications of the flooding for the defense industry may have some effect on stock market performance in the future.The implications of the article for the general industry are not as significant, since the flooding has not had a large effect on the industry. However, the article does highlight the potential implications of extreme weather events and the need for organizations to better prepare for and respond to such events in order to protect their assets and people.Overall, the article has relevance for all three perspectives, as it highlights the potential implications of climate change on defense and security strategies and the need for organizations to prepare for and respond to extreme weather events.Investigative
Question:
- 1. What strategies can be implemented to better prepare for and respond to extreme weather events?
- 2. What are the potential implications of climate change for global security?
- 3.
How can the defense industry better anticipate and mitigate the impacts of such events?4. What are the long-term economic, environmental, and social impacts of flooding?
5. What are the potential implications for other countries in the region of similar events?
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