“God’s Wrath or Unpreparedness?”: Flash Floods Kill More Than 300 in Pakistan

“The downpours turned into torrential rain and then a natural disaster on a scale not seen in years,” describes the daily Dawn . Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan’s fourth-largest province in the northwest of the country, was devastated by flash floods on Friday, August 15. “The water wreaked havoc,” confirms Pakistan Today .

By midday Saturday, local authorities had recorded 307 deaths, including 184 in Buner alone. But Pakistani media fear the death toll will rise significantly. “Rescue operations are proceeding at a frustratingly slow pace: damaged roads, mudslides, and collapsed bridges make access nearly impossible in many districts ,” Dawn , in Karachi, worried.

The rainy season, called the monsoon, which has already claimed the lives of more than 200 people in recent weeks, does not alone explain the intensity of the rainfall, according to the Qatari media Al-Jazeera .

“The levels recorded are above normal and attributed by experts to climate change.”

So, is it “God’s wrath or unpreparedness? ” asks Dawn , echoing the concerns of Internet users relayed by the newspaper. “The pain caused by these floods is real: hundreds of families were shattered in a matter of hours and towns were submerged. But as the floods worsen with each monsoon , so does the anger of citizens,” assures the daily newspaper of Pakistan’s largest city. “They know that climate change is not an abstract threat. It is there, deadly, but fought with little more than thoughts and prayers.” For Dawn, a publication classified as center-left, “the question now is whether Pakistan is capable of moving beyond lamentations to action.” And it concludes, in a solemn tone: “Will the government finally take action, including adaptation to climate change, reforestation and changing planning regulations, or will next year’s headlines be the same?”