FLOODING and monsoon rain in Pakistan have claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, ravaged one million homes, and destroyed upwards of 150 bridges in the already economically struggling country sending food prices skyrocketing with may staples unavailble. The floods began in mid-June and have been described as a “climate catastrophe” by Sherry Rehman, a Pakistani senator and the state’s top climate official.

The rain that caused the flooding stopped on 27 August, but people are still having to deal with waist-high water in the streets and their homes. “Literally one-third of Pakistan is underwater right now, which has exceeded every boundary, every norm we’ve seen in the past,” declared Rehman. The rains are expected to continue during the monsoon season that usually runs in Pakistan from July to September.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared that the floods were the worst to hit the country in 30 years. Entire villages have been cut off from the rest of the country due to the destruction of roads, and according to official estimates 33 million people, or 14 per cent of the population, have been affected. Almost half a million people have been crowded into camps after losing their homes. Those who were rescued and transported to the make-shift camps often had to be rescued using boats and trucks.

The latest catastrophe is only one in a series of climate-change-related events that have been haunting the country over recent months, starting from heat waves that eventually spurred wild fires as well as the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas causing flash floods. Pakistan is a country that faces extremely high risks due to climate change, with Moshin Hafeez, a Lahore-based climate scientist at the International Water Management Institute, describing it as “the eighth most-vulnerable country in the world to climate change.”

Rebuilding is also a major concern, with the country only now starting to receive international aid that many are concerned will not be sufficient to repair the damage. The country was already struggling economically and was at risk of defaulting on a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Estimates by government officials put the budget required to rebuild the country at $10 billion. The IMF said it would be able to supply $1.17 billion as part of a bailout discussed in 2019.

Aid has started arriving in Islamabad from the UAE and Turkey to help in relief efforts. The UN is also currently working towards providing the country with $160 million in aid. “The situation is likely to deteriorate even further as heavy rains continue over areas already inundated by more than two months of storms and flooding. For us, this is no less than a national emergency,” Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Tuesday, urging the international community to give generously to the UN appeal.