One-third of Pakistan is inundated, as floods sweep through the country this summer. The catastrophic floods, resulting from monsoon rains that began in June, are unprecedented in scale and scope. So far, they have affected some 33 million people — about 14% of Pakistan's population — causing death, damage, displacement and loss whose effects will be felt for months and years to come.
More than 1,000 people have been killed. Agriculture, a mainstay of Pakistan's economy, has been overwhelmed as fields drown. Nearly half the cotton crop has been lost in southern Sindh province.
Pakistan's Federal Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman has called the flooding a "crisis of unimaginable proportions." Of Sindh — which is still bracing for more floods as rivers to the north swell and burst their banks — she tweeted: "The crops are gone, lives ruined, livelihoods wiped out, roads swept away, houses destroyed or barely standing ... Where to pump/drain the water? There's water everywhere."
Pakistani authorities estimate rebuilding will cost upward of $10 billion, and are pleading for help. The U.S. announced Tuesday that it's providing$30 million for shelter, food and sanitation. China, Turkey, the European Union and the United Arab Emirates also are sending aid.
The United Nations has launched a joint appeal with Pakistan's government for $160 million. "The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids — the relentless impact of epochal levels of rain and flooding," said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who will visit the country on Friday. He referred to the flooding as a "climate catastrophe."
Here are images showing some of the extent of destruction and emergency response efforts.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
Police began making dozens of arrests after Columbia University's president asked for help clearing protesters — citing the "encampment and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger."
The U.N. Security Council met Thursday to debate and vote on the Palestinian application for full membership in the United Nations, which would allow it to vote during U.N. proceedings.
The influential guitarist, songwriter and singer was best known for the song "Ramblin' Man." Betts's blues, rock and country-influenced guitar style helped define Southern rock in the 1960s and '70s.
As local elected officials continue to face pressure to pass resolutions calling for an end to the fighting in Gaza, some aren't sure how or whether to take a stand at all.
Myah Ariel's debut is like a fizzy, angsty mash-up of Bolu Babalola and Kennedy Ryan as the challenges of doing meaningful work in Hollywood threaten two young lovers' romantic reunion.