Floods in Pakistan have already left over 1,000 dead

• Floods have left more than a thousand dead in Pakistan.
• Pakistani authorities issued a new report on Sunday.
• The event is described as a «major climatic catastrophe.»

The tragedy is not over yet. The death toll from widespread flooding in Pakistan has exceeded 1,000 people since mid-June, according to officials on Sunday, August 28. Even the climate minister has called the monsoon season a «major climate catastrophe.»

The AP news agency reported that flash floods from heavy rains have washed away villages and crops in Pakistan, and soldiers and rescuers have moved stranded residents to refugee camps and provided food to thousands of displaced Pakistanis.

Over 1,000 dead in Pakistan floods

Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority reported that the death toll since the monsoon season started earlier than expected this year — in mid-June — has reached 1,033 people, after new deaths were reported in Pakistani provinces Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, the latter in the south, detailed the AP report.

Sherry Rehman, a senator and Pakistan’s top climate official, said in a video posted on Twitter that the country is experiencing a «major climate catastrophe, one of the harshest in a decade,» which has devastated towns at a dizzying pace.

‘Monsoon of the decade’ spawns tragic floods in Pakistan

“Right now we are at the epicenter of the extreme weather front line, in a relentless cascade of heat waves, wildfires, flash floods, various glacial lake ruptures, floods and now the monster monsoon of the decade is coming, causing uninterrupted chaos throughout the country,” he said. The country’s ambassador to the European Union retweeted that statement, which was made before the cameras, AP reported.

Overnight flooding of the Swat river hit the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where tens of thousands of people — especially in Charsadda and Nowshehra districts — have been evacuated from their homes to refugee camps set up in government buildings. Many have taken refuge on the sides of roads, said Kamran Bangash, spokesman for the provincial government quoted by the aforementioned information agency.

Nearly 300,000 homes have been destroyed

The unprecedented monsoon season has affected all four provinces of the country. Nearly 300,000 homes have been destroyed, numerous roads are impassable and there have been widespread blackouts, affecting millions of people, the AP report also detailed.

Senator and top climate official Sherry Rehman told Turkish news channel TRT World in dramatic remarks that by the time the rains stop, “a quarter or a third of Pakistan may well be under water” due to intense flooding.

Officials warn that a quarter or third of the country could «be under water»

In turn, Senator Sherry Rehman added: «This is something that is a global crisis and of course we will need better planning and sustainable development on the ground… We will need to have climate-resilient crops, as well as structures.»

The government has called in soldiers to assist civil authorities in rescue and relief operations across Pakistan from the floods. Meanwhile, the army reported in a statement that it rescued 22 tourists who had been trapped in a valley in the north of the country with a plane, AP noted.