Pakistan’s largest lake at risk of overflowing due to flooding

Attempts by local authorities to drain the waters failed. More than 100,000 people were evacuated over the weekend. The prices of some staple foods have increased fivefold. The food security of all of Pakistan is at risk in the coming months. The campaign continues to support the victims of the floods.

Islamabad ( / Agencies) – Pakistan’s largest lake could soon overflow, endangering the lives of thousands of people. Local authorities tried to drain the waters in recent days, but all to no avail.

Manchar Lake is located in the southeastern province of Sindh, one of the regions most affected by recent floods. Last weekend, 100,000 people had to be evacuated, after the flooding of two towns as a result of the breakage of the dikes. However, in statements to Reuters, local authorities said the water level “has not dropped”, but did not specify whether further attempts will be made to prevent the catastrophe. At the moment there are some 400 rural villages in Sindh at risk.

Heavy rains have left a third of the country under water: the satellite images taken at the end of August show how the flooded provinces seem to form a new interior lake. According to the National Disaster Management Agency, more than 1,300 people have died so far, including more than 450 children. The monsoon rains these days are a consequence of the heat waves of recent months, which also caused the premature melting of the glaciers, pouring even more water into the valleys.

The value of the damage is estimated to exceed $10 billion, but at the moment the main concern is food shortages that will follow the floods. The most affected Pakistani provinces – apart from Sindh, Baluchistan and part of Punjab – are the wheat, cotton and rice-producing regions. Planting is expected to take place in the coming months, between October and December, but with thousands of hectares of agricultural fields damaged, it is not just Pakistan’s food security that is at risk. Food supplies on world markets, already in turmoil following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, are also at risk. Wheat cultivation in Pakistan accounts for 2% of the national GDP and 2.5% of world exports, while rice exports account for 9% of global exports. The floods submerged 65% of the rice fields and 1.5 million acres devoted to cotton cultivation.

Pakistan was already experiencing a severe economic crisis, characterized by high inflation and low foreign exchange reserves. various testimonials they maintain that the prices of basic foods (potatoes, onions, tomatoes) increased between 300 and 500%.

and the PIME Foundation do not want to remain indifferent to this picture of general devastation: for this reason, we have decided to expand our AN05 campaign -which was already active to support brick factory workers in pakistan– to also help those affected by the floods. Anyone can lend their support making an online donation at this linkor through any of the methods below, ALWAYS INDICATING IN ‘REASON’: AN05 EMERGENZA PAKISTAN:

• Online donation: with credit card (Visa, Cartasì, Mastercard, American Express) or PayPal.

• Bank transfer: payable to Fondazione Pime Onlus, Crédit Agricole. IBAN IT89M0623001633000015111283

Please always send an email to [email protected] to confirm that the transfer has been made. In it, please include name, surname, address, tax code, place and date of birth (all useful data for issuing the valid document for tax deduction).

• Postal checking account No. 39208202 in the name of Fondazione Pime Onlus.

• Check or bank draft: in the name of Fondazione Pime Onlus. Please send it to Fondazione Pime Onlus, via Monte Rosa, 81 – 20149 Milan.