Catastrophic rains, floods to trigger food shortages in Pakistan: UN

KARACHI:

The ongoing torrential rains and surging floods have inundated large swaths of farmlands and destroyed ready-to-reap crops across Pakistan, triggering fears of a food crisis and inflation, the UN and growers warned on Monday.

The raging floods struck the northeastern Punjab, the country's largest province and food basket, last week, submerging hundreds of villages, schools and health centers, washing away livestock and destroying crops, aside from killing around 50 people and triggering evacuations.

The surging floods have so far affected more than 2 million people, in ad-dition to evacuation of more than 700,000 people, according to official statistics.

The water is flowing further south to fall into the mighty Indus River and is feared to wreak havoc on southern Sindh province in coming days.

"This isn't normal—yet it's becoming the new normal. Monsoons, driven by climate change, now bring fear and devastation to communities across Pakistan," Mo Yahya, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator, said in a post on US social media company X, after visiting the flood-hit areas.

"Flooded rice fields stretch as far as the eye can see. Farmers now face months without crops or income until the next planting season," he said, while posting a video of flooded farmlands in Hafizabad district.

"This is only the beginning - more intense rains are expected in the com-ing weeks. As the water flows further south, it will threaten more families with displacement and destruction," Yahya added.

"This is not just another natural disaster; this is #ClimateChange."

Endorsing the warning, Waqar Ahmad, the secretary general of Kisan Board of Pakistan, a nationwide farmers body, said that the catastrophic floods have destroyed the three main crops of rice, sugarcane and sesame (oil-rich seeds) across Punjab.

"Rice crop has particularly taken a toll as the floods have hit the major rice-producing districts," Rizvi told Anadolu.

According to him, 70% of the standing rice crop has been destroyed by the latest floods.