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Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Pakistan Floods
HEADLINE: Half of Pakistan Declared Calamity-Hit as Unprecedented Rains Affect Millions
TEASER: Pakistan struggles to wade out of massive monsoon flooding
PUBLISHED AT: 9/2/2022 at 810p
BYLINE: Sarah Zaman
CONTRIBUTOR: flood victim interviews by Sidra Dar, Naveed Nasim
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: Khalil Ahmad, Murtaza Zehri
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: pcd, Steve Hirsch, MAS
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA, AFP, Reuters
PLATFORMS: WEB _X_ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:13
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:
((INTRO))
[[Pakistan is dealing with countrywide floods caused by record rainfall. Experts say the extreme weather has all the signs of global warming. Home to almost 230 million people, Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. VOA’s Sarah Zaman reports the rains have caused misery for many Pakistanis.]]
((NARRATOR))
Water gushing down roads, huge swaths of land submerged, dramatic rescues, all scenes from Pakistan as it faces some of its worst flooding in more than a decade.
As flood waters came bursting through their doors, residents of one village say they barely had time to save their lives.
((Flood Victim (In Urdu, No name))
“We were asleep at midnight, as soon as the waters came, floors separated from walls, floors burst open, walls started to shake, and houses started falling. Our entire house fell.”
((NARRATOR))
Monsoon rains bring much-needed water to Pakistan every summer, but this year they have brought widespread destruction.
Since mid-June, unusually heavy rains and flash floods have affected over 33 million people and killed more than 11 hundred, devastated thousands of acres of crops, killed over 700-thousand farm animals and damaged or destroyed more than a million homes.
Communities are taking refuge along roadways and in temporary shelters. One-third of the country is under water.
((Flood Victim (In Urdu, No Name))
“We have nothing. Our house is submerged. We lost our wheat grain to water. We just saved our lives and are sitting on the road.”
((NARRATOR))
Government officials blame climate change.
Based on satellite imagery, the European Space Agency says Pakistan’s devastating floods are the result of rains that were 10 times more the usual.
Earlier in the year Pakistan was hit by multiple heat waves. Hot air holds more moisture, which produces more rain. The country is also home to the most glaciers outside the Arctic, over 7,000, but experts say these masses of ice are melting fast causing landslides and flash floods.
((Sherry Rehman, Climate Change Minister of Pakistan))
"It's time for the big emitters to review their policies. //The global climate has crossed a threshold earlier than expected, and we are the ground zero as the tipping point happens."
((NARRATOR))
Some also blame rapid deforestation, shoddy infrastructure, and poor planning for the massive scale of the disaster.
((Flood Victim (In Urdu, No Name)))
“If there had been a levee here, we would not have been sitting on the road with our kids, like we are today.”
((NARRATOR))
As families struggle for necessities, a health crisis is emerging. The World Health Organization has put Pakistan’s floods at the highest level of emergency and announced $10 million in aid.
((Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization))
"Damage to health infrastructure, shortage of health workers and limited health supplies are disrupting health services, leaving children and pregnant and lactating women at increased risk. // In addition, the loss of crops and livestock will have a significant impact on the nutrition and health of many communities.
((NARRATOR))
International aid is pouring in, but Pakistan’s government is struggling with relief efforts.
((Flood Victim (In Urdu, No name))
“It’s raining, we are getting drenched, our children are getting sick. We are not getting any help.”
((NARRATOR))
When the rains pause and the waters recede, people search through their belongings looking for whatever they can salvage.
Officials estimate the damage to total at least $10 billion.
The floods are a huge blow to Pakistan, which was already struggling to keep its economy afloat.
((Sarah Zaman, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsWeather, Environment
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington
Embargo DateSeptember 3, 2022 00:09 EDT
CountryPAK
BylineSarah Zaman
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
