A picture says a thousand words is a fact that has found its best expression from a photograph of the rising level of water in Nullah Lai under the caption headline ‘Nullah Lai resembling River Ravi yesterday?’ carried by the newspaper yesterday.
The current spell of torrential rains has caused massive rise in water levels in nullahs and rivers alike. No doubt, Nullah Lai in Rawalpindi has been strongly resembling many rivers of the country, including the River Ravi, in that photograph. According to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), around 90 people have been killed and more than 180 others injured in the rain-related incidents since June 25.
An NDMA official is reported to have said that his organization and Pakistan Climate Change Ministry have been monitoring 17 satellites and 36 flood early warning systems that are in place. According to him, the country will end up in a huge economic crisis if the catastrophic floods like last year happened now.
That the situation is pretty grim is a fact as more torrential rains have been forecast by the MET office. Any further damage to lives and livestock by floods will only add to human misery in a country that has suffered a loss of around $30 billion on account of one of the worst floods in its history last year.
The country, which is still facing an economic crisis despite an IMF bailout, cannot afford to suffer such losses any more. Unfortunately, however, the intensity of current rainfall shows that more hardships are in store for the people of this country. Climate change had caused increased intense rainfall in Pakistan last year. The current situation is no better either.
Haider Ali (Rawalpindi)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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