The monsoon’s final show of strength

At this time of year the monsoon should have retreated from Pakistan, but over the last week the rains have been some of the heaviest of the entire year.

Up until about 5 September, the monsoon had generally been rather disappointing. A few locations had received more rain than usual, but the vast majority of the country received well below average, particularly the Sindh and Balochistan provinces in the south of the country.

However, in the last week, after the monsoon should have cleared away from Pakistan, the rain has become very heavy.

Powerful thunderstorms have triggered flash flooding, which have inundated houses, causing some of them to collapse in on their occupants. Over 78 people are now known to have died.

In the last two days, it has been the Sindh province which has been the worst affected. Jacobabad has reported 447mm of rain in just 48 hours, causing severe flooding. The area has now been declared a state of emergency.

More heavy rain is expected in the next few days, but after that the monsoon should finally retreat southwards. This means the flooding will recede, and should not become as severe as the past few years.

Last year, flooding killed more than 340 people and affected almost six million. The year before the flooding had been even worst, with almost 1800 people losing their lives and 21 million affected.