While Pakistan continues to be ravaged by floods, especially in Sindh and Balochistan provinces, Pakistan is now playing a victim of its own man-made disaster fabricated under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Pakistan floods have increased manifold over the last 50 years, killing 115 people each day on average and damaging infrastructure projects in sensitive regions like Gilgit Baltistan, causing a high melting rate of glaciers and blockage of river systems are termed as a major cause for it, Al Arabiya reported citing the World Meteorological Organization. Apparently, the floods have become another chance for the Pakistani government to seek donations to help themselves amid the CPEC-driven economic turmoil. However, the projects are of critical importance for both China and Pakistan.
An international group of scientists, World Weather Attribution, in its September 2022 analysis has held human activities responsible for the deadly floods in Pakistan, as per Al Arabiya.
Various reasons are responsible for Pakistan’s floods. Firstly, the elevation of several roads is higher than the areas they pass through and these settlements tend to become lakes with no exit for water, an architect, Arif Hasan, wrote in the Dawn
Furthermore, the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, running through some of the most vulnerable regions in Pakistan caused melting, flooding, landslides, massive deforestation and river blockages, Al Arabiya reported.
As per Federal Flood Commission, Ministry of Water and Power 2015 report, the CPEC region has experienced 25 significant flood events in the past 70 years.
According to the health department data, more than 2.5 million people have been affected by infectious diseases in flood-hit areas of Pakistan.
In a recent statement, the World Health Organization expressed deep concerns about the potential for a “second disaster in Pakistan: a wave of diseases and deaths” following the catastrophic floods caused by climate change that has submerged one-third of Pakistan.
Explaining the impacts on health, the WHO chief suggested acting quickly to protect health and deliver essential health services.
The Monsoon rains have claimed more than a thousand lives across Pakistan since June and unleashed powerful floods that have washed away swathes of vital crops and damaged or destroyed more than a million homes.