- Title: From furnace to flood: world's hottest city in Pakistan now under water
- Date: 31st August 2022
- Summary: JACOBABAD, SINDH PROVINCE, PAKISTAN (FILE - MAY 16, 2022) (REUTERS) TRAFFIC MOVING AMID HEATWAVE CHILD DRINKING WATER FROM HAND PUMP VEHICLES MOVING IN LOCAL BAZAAR MAN CARRYING CHILD WALKING WITH SCARVES ON THEIR HEADS BUFFALO DRINKING WATER ON ARID LAND JACOBABAD, SINDH PROVINCE, PAKISTAN (FILE - MAY 18, 2022) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING ON THE STREET OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL ENTRANCE TO HEAT STROKE RESPONSE CENTER INSIDE HOSPITAL BANNER, READING (English and Sindhi): "HEAT STROKE RESPONSE CENTER" JACOBABAD, SINDH PROVINCE, PAKISTAN (FILE - MAY 15, 2022) (REUTERS) HEAT STROKE PATIENTS LYING IN HOSPITAL BEDS VARIOUS OF WOMAN LYING IN BED WITH INTRAVENOUS DRIP DOCTOR CHECKING ON PATIENT JACOBABAD, SINDH PROVINCE, PAKISTAN (FILE - MAY 14, 2022) (REUTERS) BUILDINGS SOLAR PANELS ON THE ROOF OF THE BUILDING
- Embargoed: 14th September 2022 09:38
- Keywords: Jacobabad Pakistan climate change disaster environment extreme weather floods heatwave rain temperatures
- Location: JACOBABAD, SINDH PROVINCE, PAKISTAN
- City: JACOBABAD, SINDH PROVINCE, PAKISTAN
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Disaster/Accidents,Floods,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA002167231082022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: People displaced by floods in Jacobabad in southern Pakistan grappled with a devastating loss on Tuesday (August 30), three months after their city was named as the world's hottest at one point.
On May 14, temperatures in Jacobabad hit 51°C, making it the world's hottest city at that time. The prolonged heatwave dried up canal beds and caused some residents to collapse from heatstroke. Today, parts of the city in Sindh province are underwater, though flooding has receded from its peak.
Torrential rains and flooding have submerged a third of Pakistan and killed more than 1,100 people. Around 33 million people have been affected, 15% of the 220 million-strong South Asian nation. Southern Sindh province, with a population of 50 million, has been one of the hardest hit areas of the country, receiving 466% more rain than the 30-year average.
Such extreme weather events in a short space of time have caused havoc across the country, killing hundreds of people, cutting off communities, wrecking homes and infrastructure, and raising concerns over health and food security.
"We'd be better off dead instead of living at this place. This place is very dirty and a lot of mosquitos are here. It would have been better to drown and die in flood water instead of this," said Mohammad Javed, an evacuee who came to a makeshift shelter with his entire family.
Nineteen people in the city of around 200,000 are confirmed to have died in the flooding, including children, according to the city's deputy commissioner, while local hospitals reported many more were sick or injured.
More than 40,000 people are living in temporary shelters, mostly in crowded schools with limited access to food.
"Our children are small and they need milk, but we are giving them water in their bottles mixed with sugar since there is no milk," said shelter resident Muhammad Nawaz.
Pakistan's meteorological office predicted more rains and flash flooding for the month of September.
(Production: Waseem Sattar, Shahabuddin Shahab, Jacinta Goh) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None