Two Years After Deadly Floods Hit Pakistan, It’s Happening Again

One recent evening, as heavy monsoon rains pounded down, Fauzia and her extended family of 15 huddled under a makeshift tent, its top patched with large plastic sheets.

Two years ago, her home was damaged in some of the worst flooding to ever hit Pakistan, a catastrophe that left more than 1,700 people dead and affected 30 million. Her family rebuilt three rooms with borrowed money and the sale of livestock. But as torrential rains have returned this year, their home has been damaged yet again, forcing them into the tent during downpours. Their memories of 2022 fill them with fear.

“Our children are terrified of the rain now,” said Fauzia, who, like many women in rural Pakistan, goes by one name. “Whenever it rains or the wind picks up, they cling to us and cry, ‘We will drown.’”

As unusually heavy rains lash Pakistan during this monsoon season, Fauzia is one of millions across the country who had only just recovered from the devastating 2022 floods and are now bracing for the possibility of losing what they had rebuilt.

That prospect has stoked outrage among some Pakistanis, who say that the authorities have not adequately prepared for the latest deluges, which have killed at least 285 people since July 1, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

Government officials say they have taken steps like implementing early warning systems and strengthening embankments along major rivers. But critics say that Pakistan’s political, economic and security instability has pushed flood recovery and climate-change mitigation measures to the bottom of the government’s priorities.