Pakistan Monsoon Floods Force Mass Exodus

(MENAFN) Relentless monsoon rains have unleashed deadly flooding across Pakistan, claiming more than 920 lives and forcing nearly 2 million people from their homes, as entire communities are submerged and critical farmland lies devastated.

The ongoing catastrophe, described as one of the worst in recent memory, is raising fears of a massive internal displacement crisis, potentially rivaling the fallout of the 2010 floods, according to aid groups and local agricultural experts.

“Migration has already started in several areas as unprecedented rains and floods have left nothing behind for millions of people,” said Shaukat Ali Chadhar, president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Agriculture, in comments to media.

The floods have severely impacted approximately 10 million people who rely on agriculture, especially in northeastern Punjab, Pakistan’s primary agricultural region.

“A multi-pronged combination of rains and floods has affected the farmers in many ways, destroying stored and standing crops, agricultural lands and livestock,” Chadhar noted. He warned it could take up to a year and a half for farmland to recover and be suitable for cultivation again.

“This gloomy scenario has left no choice for them but to migrate to the big cities to make a living,” he said, estimating that up to 1 million people could be forced to relocate.

Rising Waters and Rising Alarm
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) issued a warning last Friday, stating that Pakistan is enduring one of its harshest monsoon seasons in recent history.

Data from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reveals that at least 922 people have died and 1,047 others have been injured since late June. Over 10,000 homes have been either partially or completely destroyed, primarily in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces.

Adding to the crisis, neighboring India opened major dam gates in late August amid its own struggle with monsoon floods. The release of water into rivers governed by the Indus Waters Treaty has caused further surges downstream in Pakistan, significantly worsening flood conditions in Punjab.

In a historic and deeply concerning development, all three eastern rivers—the Sutlej, Jhelum, and Chenab—have reached what authorities describe as “exceptionally” high flood levels simultaneously for the first time in Pakistan’s 78-year history.

With the monsoon showing no signs of abating and displacement accelerating, officials warn that the long-term humanitarian, economic, and agricultural toll could be severe.

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