[DW.com]Pakistan: Karachi experiences worst floods in almost a century, dozens dead | DW | 28.08.2020

The Pakistani city of Karachi has experienced its heaviest rains in almost a century, killing dozens and leaving hundreds of thousands trapped, officials said Friday.

At least 41 people have died from the deluge, though the death toll is expected to rise once rescuers reach several neighborhoods that were currently inaccessible.

The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) fears hundreds of thousands of people are still trapped in Pakistan’s most populous city due to waterlogging in low-lying slums.

The military was called in and rescuers were using boats from the Pakistani navy to reach victims, confirmed Murad Ali Shah, chief minister of the Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital.

Heaviest since records began

The city, which is home to roughly 15 million people, has experienced its heaviest rainfall in a single spell since 1931, according to Sindh’s Meteorological chief Sardar Sarfraz.

“It has never rained so much in the month of August,” Sarfaraz said.

Pakistan Karachi | Flooding after heavy rainfall (picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Khan)

Some 484mm (19 inches) of rain has fallen this month so far, Sarfaraz added.

More heavy rains were expected in southern and southwestern Pakistan over the next 48 hours, raising fears of further devastation across the country.

Hundreds of people die in Pakistan each year during monsoon season, which occurs typically in July and August.

In addition to flooded rivers caused by rains on the Himalayas, climate change has contributed towards increased urban flooding, as well as glacial lake outbursts.

jsi/stb (dpa, Reuters)

Hurricane Laura batters US Gulf Coast

Arrival

Laura made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the early hours of Thursday morning in the small town of Cameron, Louisiana. It was packing winds of up to 241 kph (150 mph), making it one of the most powerful storms on record in the US. Hours later it was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane, but continued to lash the coast with heavy rain and winds.

Hurricane Laura batters US Gulf Coast

Lost life

The storm’s first fatality was a 14-year-old girl who died when a tree fell on her house in the Louisiana city of Leesville. The state’s governor, John Bel Edwards, appealed to residents to stay home, and warned the death toll could rise.

Hurricane Laura batters US Gulf Coast

Widespread damage

The hurricane ripped right through Lake Charles, a Louisiana city of around 80,000 people. It gutted buildings, toppled street signs and flooded roads.

Hurricane Laura batters US Gulf Coast

Shattered glass

The wind also blew out the windows of the city’s 22-floor Capital One Tower, and brought down a controversial statue of a Confederate general that had stood outside the Lake Charles court house since 1915.

Hurricane Laura batters US Gulf Coast

Roar of a jet engine

Lake Charles resident Chris Johnson surveys the damage at his home. He decided to stay put as the hurricane passed through. Brett Geymann, who lives just north of the city, said the hurricane sounded like the roar of a jet engine. “It looks like 1,000 tornadoes went through here. It’s just destruction everywhere,” he told The Associated Press. “There are houses that are totally gone.”

Hurricane Laura batters US Gulf Coast

Power outages

More than 700,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana and Texas were without power early Thursday, and local utilities in the storm’s path warned those numbers would rise as Laura advanced inland. The hurricane’s arrival also led to the closure of ports and forced oil rigs and refineries in the US Gulf to shut down production.

Hurricane Laura batters US Gulf Coast

Wall of water

The National Hurricane Center had predicted that Laura would bring an “unsurvivable storm surge and destructive waves,” that could penetrate more than 60km inland. While the worst projections didn’t appear to materialize, the NHC warned high water levels would continue to surge along the Gulf Coast for several hours as Laura moved north.

Hurricane Laura batters US Gulf Coast

Seeking shelter

Hundreds of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate from parts of Texas and Louisiana. Many booked into hotels inland, or slept in their cars, with officials reluctant to open large shelters that could lead to the coronavirus spreading. Texas Governor Greg Abbott had warned that Laura’s power was “unprecedented” and told citizens to “get out of harm’s way.”

Hurricane Laura batters US Gulf Coast

Death and destruction in the tropics

Laura reached the US after causing devastating flooding and landslides in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, killing at least 23 people. It is the 12th named storm in the Atlantic so far this year, and the National Hurricane Center has predicted there may be as many as 25 before the storm season ends in November.